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Back when the young midfielder made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”

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

Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden summons to the full England team.

His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a true blast from the past, a story rarely seen in the modern era.

What’s next? The World Cup?

“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing England too,” Scott stated previously.

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

But in what way did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?

Developing in non-league

Scott’s football journey has been far from a typical one.

He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.

Before his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.

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

“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.

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

“To gain some confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”

When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their league match at Phoenix Sports.

“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.

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

Returning to the professional game

Championship side the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his early progress after an impressive beginning in adult football and gave him a trial in December 2019.

“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled Scott. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.

“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”

In just 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against the Hatters.

He made eighty-three league appearances for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – such was his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.

With his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.

By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.

“No doubt, I think he’ll play for England and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the game,” his former manager, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.

Within 90 days after, he signed for the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of £25m.

Securing his major transfer

The midfielder experienced a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.

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

“I had a decent run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.

“It was yet another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first five months.”

But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.

He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.

And he has begun the current campaign just as strongly for his club, playing in all matches to guide them to the top five in the standings.

“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott stated recently.

“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better every day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”