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

That statement proved to be something of an underestimation.

Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his first call-up to the full Three Lions squad.

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

What’s next? The World Cup?

“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing the national team too,” Scott stated in a recent interview.

“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for myself and my family.”

But how 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 four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.

Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. The Cherries gave him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.

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

“My form had dipped and flying over every week was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.

“All I desired to relax at my home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. Getting that slice of childhood back was something I really needed.

“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”

When he was just 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.

“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” manager the coach commented at the time.

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

Making a comeback to the pro ranks

Championship side Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking his early progress after an promising start in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.

“It was chaos,” recalled the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.

“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”

In just 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.

He 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 versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.

Thanks to his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.

By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.

“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated last year.

Within three months later, he joined the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of £25m.

Getting his big move

The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being in and out of the team.

His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly four months.

“There was quite a good run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.

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

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

He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a formidable understanding in the middle with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.

And he has begun this season equally as impressively for his club, featuring in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.

“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” Scott said recently.

“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, getting better day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”