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When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”

That statement proved to be something of an understatement.

Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his maiden call-up to the senior England team.

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

What’s next? The World Cup?

“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the Premier League and representing England too,” the player stated in a recent interview.

“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my loved ones.”

So how did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?

Developing in the lower tiers

Scott’s football journey has not been a typical one.

He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.

Prior to he turned 13, though, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an option and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.

Rather, he opted to remain on the island and play for his hometown club.

“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.

“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly several years of that experience. To have that slice of youth again was a thing I definitely needed.

“Building a bit of self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial factors that led me to this point.”

At the age of 16, the teenager became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.

“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance commented at the time.

“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”

Returning to the professional game

Championship side Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his development after an impressive beginning in men’s football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.

“The whole experience was hectic,” said the player. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.

“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”

In just a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against Luton.

Scott made 83 league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.

With his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England playmaker Grealish.

At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.

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

Within 90 days after, he joined the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of £25m.

Securing his major transfer

The midfielder experienced a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.

His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.

“There was a decent run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.

“It was almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first five months.”

But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.

He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.

And he has started this season equally as strongly for his club, playing in all matches to help them to the top five in the standings.

“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” the player stated earlier this season.

“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”