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Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”

That statement proved to be something of an underestimation.

Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden call-up to the senior Three Lions squad.

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

What’s next? A major tournament?

“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the top division and playing for the national team too,” Scott said previously.

“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”

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

Learning in the lower tiers

His path in football has not been a conventional one.

He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.

Prior to he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.

Rather, he chose to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.

“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.

“All I desired to relax at home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly several years of that experience. Getting that little bit of childhood again was something I really required.

“To gain some confidence by coming back and taking part in island football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial things that got me to this point.”

At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their league match at Phoenix Sports.

“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach 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 – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.

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

“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to sign a deal.”

In just 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus Luton.

Scott went on to make eighty-three league outings for the club while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.

Thanks to his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.

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

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

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

Getting his major transfer

The midfielder experienced a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.

His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.

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

“It was almost another obstacle 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 managed to get himself fit in time.

He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, developing a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the first team under the national coach.

And he has started this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to help them to the top five in the standings.

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

“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”