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Back when the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”

That statement turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.

Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his first summons to the full England squad.

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

What’s next? A major tournament?

“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for England as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.

“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for me and my family.”

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

Learning in non-league

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

He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.

Before he turned 13, however, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.

Rather, he opted to stay on the island and turn out for his hometown club.

“My form had dipped and flying over every week was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.

“All I desired to chill at home with my friends at weekends because I had missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. Getting that slice of childhood back was a thing I definitely required.

“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and playing local football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”

At the age of 16, Scott became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.

“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring 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 retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”

Returning to the professional game

Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and gave him a trial in late 2019.

“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a complete shock.

“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”

In just 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against the Hatters.

He went on to make 83 league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.

With his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.

At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.

“No doubt, I believe he will represent his country and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at the club, stated last year.

Within 90 days later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.

Securing his big move

Scott endured a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the team.

His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost several months.

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

“It was yet another obstacle and it was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first five months.”

But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.

He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, forming a strong partnership in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the first team with the national coach.

And he has begun this season equally as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to help them to the top five in the table.

“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” Scott said 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.”