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When Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”

That statement proved to be something of an understatement.

Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions team.

His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom told in the modern era.

Next stop? A major tournament?

“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and playing for England too,” Scott said previously.

“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my family.”

So how did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?

Learning in non-league

His football journey has been far from a typical one.

He spent over four years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.

Before his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.

Instead, he opted to remain on the island and play for his local team.

“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.

“I just wanted to chill at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed almost several years of that experience. To have that little bit of childhood again was a thing I really required.

“Building some confidence by returning and taking part in local football was massive for me. It was perhaps one of the most important things that led me to this point.”

At the age of 16, Scott became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.

“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented at the time.

“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”

Making a comeback to the professional game

Championship side Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking his development after an impressive start in adult football and arranged a trial in late 2019.

“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.

“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”

In just a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus Luton.

Scott went on to make eighty-three league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – such was his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.

With his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.

By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.

“Without question, I believe he will represent England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated last year.

Less than 90 days later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.

Getting his major transfer

Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the team.

His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly several months.

“I had quite a good run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.

“It was almost another setback and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first half.”

But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.

He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.

And he has started this season equally as strongly for his club, featuring in all matches to guide them to the top five in the table.

“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott stated recently.

“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a player, keep enjoying football, getting better day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”