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When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”

That statement proved to be a bit of an understatement.

Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his first call-up to the full Three Lions team.

His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a story rarely told in the modern game.

What’s next? A major tournament?

“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the top division and representing England too,” the player stated in a recent interview.

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

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

Developing in the lower tiers

His football journey has not been a typical one.

He was part of over four years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.

Prior to he turned 13, however, they released him. The Cherries gave Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.

Instead, he chose to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.

“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.

“I just wanted to relax at my home with my friends at weekends because I had missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of childhood again was a thing I definitely required.

“To gain a bit of confidence by coming back and playing island football was massive for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial things that got me to this point.”

When he was just 16, Scott became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league fixture at the opposition.

“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” manager the coach stated back then.

“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”

Making a comeback to the pro ranks

Championship side the Robins – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising start in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.

“It was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a complete shock.

“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”

Within a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.

Scott made 83 league outings for the club while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position 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 ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.

By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was selected in the division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.

“Without question, I believe he will represent England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, the player’s boss at the club, stated previously.

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

Getting his major transfer

The midfielder endured a difficult first season with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.

His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly four months.

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

“That felt like yet another setback and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first half.”

But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.

He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, developing a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.

And he has begun this season just as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to the top five in the standings.

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

“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a player, maintain my love for the game, getting better day on day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”