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When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”

That prediction proved to be a bit of an understatement.

Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden summons to the senior England team.

His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a proper throwback, a story rarely told in the modern era.

What’s next? The World Cup?

“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for England too,” the player stated previously.

“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed completely for me and my loved ones.”

So how did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?

Learning in the lower tiers

His path in football has not been a typical one.

He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, skipping school 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 he turned 13, however, they released him. Bournemouth gave him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.

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

“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.

“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at weekends because I missed almost four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of childhood again was something I definitely required.

“Building some self-belief by returning and playing island football was huge for me. It was probably the most crucial things that led me to this point.”

When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league match at Phoenix Sports.

“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.

“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”

Returning to the pro ranks

Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his development after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a trial in late 2019.

“The whole experience was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.

“Midweek I featured for his local side in London, travelled back 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 sign a contract.”

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

Scott made 83 league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.

With his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team playmaker Grealish.

By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was selected in the league’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.

“Without question, I believe he will represent his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.

Less than three months after, he joined Bournemouth for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.

Securing his big move

The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the club, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the team.

His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly four 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 yet another obstacle and it was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first five months.”

But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.

He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, forming a formidable understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.

And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.

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

“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, getting better every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”