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When Alex Scott made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”

This statement proved to be a bit of an underestimation.

Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his first call-up to the full England squad.

His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a true throwback, a story rarely told in the modern era.

What’s next? The World Cup?

“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring in the Premier League and representing the national team too,” the player said previously.

“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”

So how did Alex Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?

Learning in non-league

Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.

He spent over four years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.

Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.

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

“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.

“I just wanted to chill at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. To have that little bit of youth back was something I really required.

“To gain some self-belief by returning and playing local football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial things that got me where I am today.”

At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league fixture at the opposition.

“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented at the time.

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

Returning to the pro ranks

Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.

“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.

“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”

In just a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus the Hatters.

He went on to make 83 league appearances for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – such was his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.

Thanks to his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.

At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.

“No doubt, I believe he will represent his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated last year.

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

Getting his major transfer

The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the club, having to wait until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.

His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly four months.

“I had quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.

“That felt like almost another obstacle and it 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 succeeded in get himself fit in time.

He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, developing a strong partnership in the middle with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.

And he has started this season just as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.

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

“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying football, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”