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Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”

That prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.

Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first summons to the full Three Lions squad.

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

Next stop? A major tournament?

“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind playing in the Premier League and playing for England too,” Scott stated previously.

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

So in what way did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?

Developing in non-league

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

He was part of over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.

Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.

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

“My form had dipped and traveling every week was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.

“I just wanted to chill at home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed almost four and a half years of that experience. Getting that slice of youth back was something I definitely required.

“Building a bit of self-belief by returning and playing island football was massive for me. It was probably one of the most important factors that got me to this point.”

When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.

“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated at the time.

“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”

Returning to the professional game

Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.

“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled Scott. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.

“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a contract.”

In just 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against Luton.

Scott went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.

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

At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.

“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated last year.

Within three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.

Getting his major transfer

The midfielder experienced a difficult first season with the Cherries, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the starting XI.

His following season was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly several months.

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

“It was yet another obstacle and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first half.”

But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit in time.

He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, forming a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.

And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in every game to guide them to the top five in the table.

“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.

“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and with luck I impress the national coach and get my chance.”