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Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”

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

Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his maiden call-up to the senior England squad.

His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a true blast from the past, a journey seldom seen in the modern era.

Next stop? The World Cup?

“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring in the Premier League and playing for the national team too,” 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 loved ones.”

So how did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?

Developing in the lower tiers

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

He spent over four years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.

Before he turned 13, though, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.

Instead, he opted to stay on the island and turn out for his local team.

“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.

“All I desired to relax at home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth back was a thing I definitely needed.

“Building some self-belief by returning and playing island football was huge for me. It was probably one of the most important factors that led me where I am today.”

At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.

“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach stated back then.

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

Returning to the professional game

Championship side Bristol City – chaired by islander their owner – had been tracking his early progress after an promising beginning in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.

“It was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.

“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I played 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 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.

He made eighty-three league appearances for the club while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.

With his ability to carry 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 England playmaker Jack Grealish.

By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.

“No doubt, I believe he will represent his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the game,” his former manager, the player’s manager at the club, stated last year.

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

Securing his major transfer

The midfielder experienced a difficult first season with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the starting XI.

His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly several months.

“There was quite a good run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.

“That felt like yet another setback and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first five months.”

But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.

He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.

And he has begun the current campaign just as strongly for his club, playing in every game to guide them to the top five in the table.

“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” the player said earlier this season.

“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, improving day on day, and with luck I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”