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When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”

That prediction proved to be a bit of an underestimation.

Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his maiden call-up to the full England team.

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

Next stop? The World Cup?

“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing the national team too,” Scott stated in a recent interview.

“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my loved ones.”

But in what way did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?

Developing in the lower tiers

His football journey has been far from a typical one.

He spent over four years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.

Before his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer 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 opted to remain on the island and play for his local team.

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

“All I desired 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 slice of childhood back was something I really required.

“Building a bit of confidence by returning and taking part in island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that led me to this point.”

When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.

“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach stated back then.

“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”

Returning to the pro ranks

Championship side Bristol City – chaired by islander their owner – had been tracking his development after an promising beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.

“The whole experience 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 total shock.

“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”

Within 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus the Hatters.

Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – such was his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth 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 earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.

At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.

“Without question, I believe he’ll play for England and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, remarked last year.

Less than three months later, he joined the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of £25m.

Getting his big move

The midfielder endured a difficult first season with the Cherries, waiting until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.

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

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

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

But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.

He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side under the national coach.

And he has begun this season just as strongly for his club, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the table.

“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” Scott stated recently.

“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for football, getting better day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”