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When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”

That statement proved to be something of an understatement.

Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his maiden summons to the full Three Lions team.

His rise from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a story rarely told in the modern game.

Next stop? The World Cup?

“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, let alone featuring in the Premier League and playing for England too,” the player said in a recent interview.

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

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

Developing in the lower tiers

Scott’s path in football has not been a typical one.

He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.

Before he turned 13, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave him an option and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.

Rather, he chose to stay on the island and turn out for his hometown club.

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

“All I desired to chill at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly several years of that experience. Getting that slice of childhood back was a thing I definitely required.

“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. It was probably one of the most important things that got me to this point.”

At the age of 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.

“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach stated back then.

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

Making a comeback to the pro ranks

Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his development after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.

“It was chaos,” recalled Scott. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.

“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”

In just a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus the Hatters.

He went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.

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

At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s best young player honour, was selected in the division’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.

“No doubt, I think he will represent England and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at the club, stated previously.

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

Getting his big move

Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.

His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.

“There was a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.

“That felt like yet another setback and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first five months.”

But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.

He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, forming a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.

And he has begun this season just as impressively for his club, playing in every game to help them to fifth in the table.

“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” Scott said earlier this season.

“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying the game, improving every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”