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Back when Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”

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

Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions team.

His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern era.

What’s next? The World Cup?

“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing the national team as well,” the player stated previously.

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

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

Developing in non-league

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

He was part of over four years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.

Before he turned 13, however, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.

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

“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.

“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost several years of that experience. To have that little bit of youth back was a thing I really needed.

“To gain some self-belief by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that led me where I am today.”

When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their league match at the opposition.

“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance stated at the time.

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

Returning to the pro ranks

Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his development after an impressive beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.

“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.

“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a contract.”

Within 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against the Hatters.

Scott went on to make eighty-three league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.

With his skill to drive 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 England playmaker Jack Grealish.

At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was voted 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 top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated last year.

Within 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.

Securing his major transfer

Scott endured a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.

His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost four months.

“I had a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.

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

But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.

He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, forming a formidable partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.

And he has begun this season just as impressively for his club, playing in every game to help them to the top five in the standings.

“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” Scott said recently.

“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a player, keep enjoying football, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”