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Back when Alex Scott made his local team 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 youngster.”

That statement proved to be a bit of an underestimation.

Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions squad.

His rise from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a story rarely seen in the modern era.

Next stop? The World Cup?

“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and representing England as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.

“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed completely for me and my family.”

But in what way did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?

Learning in non-league

His path in football has not been a conventional one.

He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey 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 were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.

Rather, he chose to stay on the island and play for his hometown club.

“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.

“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at weekends because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. To have that slice of youth back was something I really required.

“Building a bit of self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was huge for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”

When he was just 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.

“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance 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 pure quality.”

Making a comeback to the professional game

Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an impressive start in adult football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.

“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled the player. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the next day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.

“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and on the 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.”

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

Scott made 83 league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – such was his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.

With his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England playmaker 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 think he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated previously.

Within three months later, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of £25m.

Securing his major transfer

Scott experienced a challenging debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the team.

His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.

“I had quite a good run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.

“It was almost another setback and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first five months.”

But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.

He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, forming a strong partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.

And he has started the current campaign just as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.

“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” the player said earlier this season.

“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and with luck I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”