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

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

Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his maiden summons to the senior England squad.

His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom told in the modern game.

What’s next? The World Cup?

“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and playing for the national team too,” the player stated in a recent interview.

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

But how did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?

Learning in the lower tiers

Scott’s football journey has been far from a typical one.

He spent over four years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.

Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an opportunity 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 chose to stay on the island and turn out for his local team.

“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.

“All I desired to chill at home with my friends at weekends because I had missed almost four and a half years of that experience. To have that slice of childhood back was something I definitely needed.

“To gain some self-belief by returning and taking part in local football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial factors that led 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 substitute in their league match at Phoenix Sports.

“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” manager the coach commented 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 professional game

Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.

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

“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in London, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a deal.”

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

Scott made 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.

With his ability to drive 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 playmaker Grealish.

At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s best young player award, was selected in the league’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.

“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated previously.

Less than three months after, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.

Getting his big move

The midfielder experienced a challenging first season 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 team.

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

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

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

But he was then called up by the national team 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 Slovakia, forming a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.

And he has begun the current campaign just as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to help them to fifth in the table.

“To play for the national team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” the player stated recently.

“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”