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Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”

This statement proved to be a bit of an underestimation.

Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his maiden call-up to the senior England squad.

His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a proper throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern era.

What’s next? The World Cup?

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

“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have changed completely for me and my family.”

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

Developing in non-league

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

He spent over four years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.

Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. The Cherries gave him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.

Instead, he chose to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.

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

“I just wanted to relax at home with my mates at weekends because I missed almost four and a half years of doing that. To have that slice of youth back was something I definitely required.

“To gain some confidence by returning and taking part in local football was massive for me. It was perhaps one of the most important things that got me to this point.”

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

“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.

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

Returning to the pro ranks

Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his early progress after an promising start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.

“It was chaos,” said Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total shock.

“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”

Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.

Scott made eighty-three league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.

With his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.

At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.

“No doubt, I believe he will represent his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.

Within 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of £25m.

Securing his major transfer

The midfielder experienced a challenging debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.

His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly several months.

“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.

“It was almost another setback and it was turning out to be 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 regain fitness in time.

He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, forming a strong understanding in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team under the national coach.

And he has begun this season equally as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to guide them to fifth in the standings.

“To play for the national team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” the player stated earlier this season.

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