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When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”

This prediction proved to be something of an understatement.

Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions squad.

His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom seen in the modern era.

Next stop? The World Cup?

“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring in the Premier League and playing for the national team too,” Scott stated previously.

“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”

So in what way did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?

Developing in non-league

His path in football has been far from a conventional one.

He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.

Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.

Instead, he opted to stay on the island and turn out for his local team.

“My form had dipped and flying over every week was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.

“All I desired to chill at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost four and a half years of that experience. To have that little bit of youth back was something I definitely needed.

“To gain a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in island football was massive for me. It was probably one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”

When he was just 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.

“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach stated at the time.

“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”

Making a comeback to the pro ranks

Championship side Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.

“It was chaos,” recalled Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.

“Midweek I featured for his local side in London, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”

Within a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus the Hatters.

Scott went on to make 83 league outings for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.

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

By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.

“Without question, I think he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, stated previously.

Less than three months after, he joined the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.

Securing his major transfer

The midfielder experienced a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.

His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.

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

“That felt like almost another setback and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first five months.”

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

He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.

And he has begun this season equally as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.

“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott said earlier this season.

“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”