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When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”

This prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.

Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his maiden summons to the full England team.

His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern game.

Next stop? A major tournament?

“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” the player said in a recent interview.

“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”

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

Developing in non-league

Scott’s path in football has not been a conventional one.

He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.

Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.

Rather, he opted to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.

“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.

“I just wanted to chill at my home with my friends at weekends because I missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. Getting that slice of youth again was something I definitely needed.

“To gain some self-belief by returning and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial things that led me where I am today.”

At the age of 16, the teenager became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.

“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.

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

Making a comeback to the professional game

Championship side the Robins – owned by islander their owner – had been tracking his development after an promising beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.

“The whole experience was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.

“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a contract.”

In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.

Scott made eighty-three league outings for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – such was his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.

Thanks to his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.

At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.

“No doubt, I think he’ll play for England and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated previously.

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

Getting his big move

The midfielder endured a difficult first season with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being in and out of the starting XI.

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

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

“That felt like almost another obstacle and it was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first five months.”

But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.

He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.

And he has started the current campaign equally as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to guide them to fifth in the table.

“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott said recently.

“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, improving day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”