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Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”

This prediction turned out to be something of an understatement.

Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his first summons to the senior England team.

His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper throwback, a story rarely told in the modern game.

What’s next? A major tournament?

“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for England too,” the player stated in a recent interview.

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

But in what way did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?

Developing in the lower tiers

His football journey has been far from a typical one.

He spent over four years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.

Before he turned 13, however, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an option and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.

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

“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.

“I just wanted to relax at my home with my friends at weekends because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that little bit of childhood again was a thing I really needed.

“To gain a bit of self-belief by coming back and taking part in island football was massive for me. It was probably one of the most important things that got me to this point.”

When he was just 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced 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 get him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach stated at the time.

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

Making a comeback to the pro ranks

Championship side Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an promising start in adult football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.

“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled Scott. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.

“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”

Within a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus Luton.

He made 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth 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 picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.

By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.

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

Within three months after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.

Getting his major transfer

The midfielder experienced a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being in and out of the team.

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

“There was a decent run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.

“That felt like almost another setback and it was shaping up as a pretty bad 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 for the tournament.

He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, forming a formidable understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.

And he has begun this season just as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to help them to the top five in the standings.

“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” the player stated earlier this season.

“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a player, keep enjoying the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”