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When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”

That prediction turned out to be a bit of an understatement.

Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his maiden call-up to the full England team.

His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a proper throwback, a journey rarely seen in the modern game.

What’s next? The World Cup?

“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and representing England as well,” the player said in a recent interview.

“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for myself and my family.”

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

Developing in the lower tiers

His football journey has been far from a conventional one.

He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.

Before he turned 13, however, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott 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.

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

“My form had dipped and flying over every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.

“I just wanted to relax at my home with my friends at weekends because I had missed almost several years of that experience. To have that slice of youth again was something I really needed.

“Building a bit of self-belief by coming back and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important things that got me to this point.”

At the age of 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.

“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.

“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”

Returning to the pro ranks

Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his development after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.

“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled Scott. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.

“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal 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 making his first-team debut against Luton.

He went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.

Thanks to his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England playmaker Grealish.

By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s best young player honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.

“No doubt, I think he will represent England and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at the club, remarked previously.

Within 90 days after, he signed for the Cherries for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.

Getting his major transfer

Scott endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.

His following season was just as disrupted, 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 good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.

“It was yet another setback and it was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first half.”

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

He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.

And he has started this season just as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in every game to help them to the top five in the standings.

“Representing the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” the player stated recently.

“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, getting better day on day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”