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Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”

That prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.

Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the senior England team.

His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a true blast from the past, a story rarely told in the modern game.

What’s next? The World Cup?

“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and representing England too,” Scott stated in a recent interview.

“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”

So in what way did Alex Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?

Learning in the lower tiers

Scott’s path in football has been far from a typical one.

He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.

Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.

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

“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.

“All I desired to relax at home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood back was a thing I definitely needed.

“Building some self-belief by returning and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial things that led 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 came on as a second-half substitute in their league match at the opposition.

“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach stated at the time.

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

Making a comeback to the professional game

Championship side Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.

“It was chaos,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.

“Midweek I featured for his local side in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”

In just 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus the Hatters.

Scott made eighty-three league outings for the club while in his teens, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.

Thanks to his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.

By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.

“Without question, I think he’ll play for England and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at the club, stated previously.

Less than 90 days after, he signed for the Cherries for a understood fee of £25m.

Getting his big move

The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the team.

His following season was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost several months.

“There was quite a good run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.

“It was almost another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first half.”

But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.

He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.

And he has begun this season just as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in every game to guide them to the top five in the standings.

“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” Scott said recently.

“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”