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

That prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.

Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions team.

His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.

What’s next? A major tournament?

“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the top division and representing England as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.

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

So how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?

Learning in non-league

His football journey has not been a typical one.

He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.

Prior to he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.

Instead, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.

“My form had dipped and traveling every week was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.

“All I desired to relax at home with my mates at weekends because I missed almost several years of doing that. To have that slice of childhood again was a thing I definitely required.

“To gain some confidence by returning and playing local football was massive for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”

When he was just 16, the teenager made history as 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 trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” manager the coach stated back then.

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

Making a comeback to the pro ranks

Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander their owner – had been tracking Scott’s development after an impressive beginning in men’s football and arranged a trial in December 2019.

“It was chaos,” recalled Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total shock.

“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”

In just a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus the Hatters.

He went on to make eighty-three league outings for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.

With his skill 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 City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.

By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season award, was selected in the division’s best XI and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.

“Without question, I think he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, remarked last year.

Less than three months after, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.

Securing his big move

The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being in and out of the team.

His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost four months.

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

“That felt like almost another setback and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first five months.”

But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.

He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.

And he has started this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.

“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” the player said recently.

“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing 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 earn an opportunity.”