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Back when the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”

That prediction turned out to be a bit of an understatement.

Today 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 true throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern era.

What’s next? The World Cup?

“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, let alone playing in the top division and representing England as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.

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

But how did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?

Learning in the lower tiers

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

He was part of over four years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.

Prior to he turned 13, however, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.

Instead, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play 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 mates at the weekend because I missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth again was something I really required.

“Building a bit of self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial things that led me to this point.”

When he was just 16, Scott became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their league match 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,” Guernsey boss the coach stated back then.

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

Making a comeback to the professional game

Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.

“It was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the next day I was with the first team, which was a total shock.

“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored 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, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus the Hatters.

Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the club while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.

Thanks to his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.

By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.

“Without question, I believe he will represent his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.

Within 90 days after, he signed for the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of £25m.

Securing his big move

The midfielder experienced a difficult first season with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.

His following season was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly four months.

“There was a decent run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.

“It was yet another obstacle and it was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first five months.”

But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness in time.

He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.

And he has started the current campaign equally as impressively for his club, featuring in every game to guide them to the top five in the standings.

“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott said earlier this season.

“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”