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Back when Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”

This prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.

Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the full England team.

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

Next stop? A major tournament?

“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” the player stated previously.

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

So in what way did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?

Learning in non-league

His football journey has been far from a conventional one.

He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.

Before his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.

Rather, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his local team.

“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.

“I just wanted to chill at home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost several years of that experience. Getting that slice of childhood again was something I really required.

“To gain some self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial factors that got me where I am today.”

At the age of 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.

“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach commented at the time.

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

Making a comeback to the pro ranks

Championship side Bristol City – chaired by islander their owner – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.

“It was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a total shock.

“Midweek I played for his local side in London, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”

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

Scott made 83 league outings for the club while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.

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

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

“No doubt, I think he will represent his country and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, stated previously.

Less than three months after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of £25m.

Getting his major transfer

Scott experienced a challenging first season with the Cherries, having to wait until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being in and out of the starting XI.

His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly several months.

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

“It was almost another setback and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first half.”

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

He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the first team under the national coach.

And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in every game to help them to the top five in the table.

“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” the player stated earlier this season.

“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”