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When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”

That statement proved to be something of an understatement.

Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his first summons to the senior England squad.

His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a proper throwback, a story seldom told in the modern game.

What’s next? A major tournament?

“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, never mind playing in the Premier League and playing for England too,” the player stated in a recent interview.

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

But how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?

Learning in non-league

His football journey has been far from a conventional one.

He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.

Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.

Instead, he opted to remain on the island and play for his local team.

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

“All I desired to relax at my home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that slice of childhood again was a thing I really required.

“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important things that led me to this point.”

When he was just 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement 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 side because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance commented back then.

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

Returning to the pro ranks

Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a trial in December 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 complete surprise.

“Midweek I featured for his local side in London, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to sign a deal.”

Within a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.

Scott went on to make 83 league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.

With his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team playmaker Grealish.

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

“No doubt, I think he will represent England and I think he will progress to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at the club, stated previously.

Less than 90 days later, he joined the Cherries for a understood fee of £25m.

Getting his major transfer

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

His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost several months.

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

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

But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.

He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, forming a formidable partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.

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

“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott said earlier this season.

“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, getting better day on day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”