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When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”

This statement proved to be something of an underestimation.

Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the senior Three Lions squad.

His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a story rarely told in the modern game.

Next stop? The World Cup?

“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone playing in the top division and playing for England too,” Scott stated previously.

“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”

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

Developing in non-league

His path in football has not been a typical one.

He spent four and a half 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 south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.

Prior to he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.

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

“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.

“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of that experience. Getting that slice of youth again was a thing I definitely needed.

“To gain a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. It was probably one of the most important factors that led me where I am today.”

When he was just 16, Scott became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.

“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented 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 Bristol City – owned by islander their owner – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in late 2019.

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

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

In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus the Hatters.

Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward 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.

Thanks to his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.

At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.

“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I think he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated previously.

Less than 90 days after, he joined the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of £25m.

Getting his major transfer

The midfielder experienced a challenging first season with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.

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

“There was a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.

“It was almost another setback and it was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first five months.”

But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.

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

And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for his club, playing in every game to guide them to the top five in the standings.

“Representing 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 keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, improving day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”