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Back when Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”

This statement turned out to be a bit of an understatement.

Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions squad.

His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom told in the modern game.

Next stop? A major tournament?

“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the Premier League and representing England too,” Scott stated previously.

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

So in what way did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?

Learning in non-league

His path in football has been far from a typical one.

He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.

Before his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.

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

“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.

“All I desired to relax at my home with my friends at weekends because I had missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood back was something I definitely required.

“Building a bit of self-belief by coming back and playing island football was massive for me. It was perhaps the most crucial things that led me where I am today.”

When he was just 16, Scott became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their league match at the opposition.

“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach stated at the time.

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

Returning to the pro ranks

Championship side the Robins – 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 try-out in late 2019.

“It was hectic,” recalled the player. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.

“Midweek I played for his local side in London, travelled back and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to sign a deal.”

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

He went on to make eighty-three league outings for the club while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.

Thanks to his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.

At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.

“No doubt, I think he’ll play for England and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, remarked last year.

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

Securing his big move

The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.

His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost several months.

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

“It was almost another setback and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first half.”

But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.

He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, forming a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.

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

“To play for the national 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, keep enjoying the game, improving day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”