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When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”

This statement proved to be something of an underestimation.

Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden summons to the senior England team.

His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern game.

Next stop? A major tournament?

“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and playing for England too,” the player said in a recent interview.

“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for me and my family.”

So in what way did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?

Developing in non-league

Scott’s path in football has not been a conventional one.

He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.

Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.

Instead, he chose to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.

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

“All I desired to chill at my home with my mates at weekends because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood back was something I definitely required.

“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and playing local football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that led me where I am today.”

At the age of 16, the teenager became the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half replacement in their league match at the opposition.

“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented back then.

“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”

Making a comeback to the pro ranks

Second-tier club the Robins – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring his development after an promising start in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.

“It was hectic,” said the player. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a complete surprise.

“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to sign a contract.”

In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus Luton.

Scott went on to make 83 league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – such was his versatility and versatility. 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 nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.

By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s best young player award, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.

“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I think he will progress to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated previously.

Less than 90 days later, he signed for the Cherries for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.

Securing his major transfer

Scott endured a difficult first season with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.

His following season was equally affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly several months.

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

“It was almost another setback and it was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first five months.”

But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.

He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.

And he has started the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to help them to the top five in the table.

“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott stated earlier this season.

“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”