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Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”

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

Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions team.

His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom told in the modern era.

Next stop? The World Cup?

“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, let alone playing in the top division and playing for the national team too,” Scott stated previously.

“It’s been a incredible 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 affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?

Learning in non-league

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

He spent over four years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.

Before his 13th birthday, though, 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 mind wasn’t fully committed.

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

“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.

“I just wanted to chill at home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed almost several years of that experience. Getting that little bit of youth again was something I really needed.

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

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

“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented back then.

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

Making a comeback to the professional game

Championship side Bristol City – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an impressive beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.

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

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

In just 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus the Hatters.

Scott went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – such was 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 Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.

At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was named 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,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at the club, remarked previously.

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

Getting his major transfer

Scott experienced a difficult first season with the Cherries, waiting until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, 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 four months.

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

“That felt like yet another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first five months.”

But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.

He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.

And he has started this season just as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to help them to fifth in the standings.

“Representing the national team would be among the most special moments of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.

“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, improving day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”