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When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”

That prediction proved to be something of an understatement.

Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions team.

His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a true throwback, a story rarely seen in the modern era.

What’s next? The World Cup?

“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind playing in the Premier League and representing England as well,” Scott stated previously.

“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed completely for me and my loved ones.”

But how did Alex Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?

Developing in the lower tiers

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

He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of 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 Saints’ youth teams.

Before his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.

Instead, he chose to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.

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

“I just wanted to chill at home with my mates at the weekend because I missed nearly several years of that experience. Getting that slice of childhood back was a thing I definitely required.

“To gain some confidence by returning and playing local football was massive for me. It was perhaps one of the most important things that led me where I am today.”

At the age of 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half replacement in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.

“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.

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

Returning to the professional game

Championship side the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an impressive beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.

“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.

“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a contract.”

In just a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against the Hatters.

He went on to make 83 league appearances for the club while in his teens, frequently being used as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.

With his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.

At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.

“Without question, I believe he will represent England and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at the club, stated previously.

Less than three months after, he signed for the Cherries for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.

Securing his big move

Scott experienced a difficult first season with the club, waiting until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.

His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him 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,” said Scott.

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

But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.

He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, forming a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team under the national coach.

And he has started the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.

“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott stated earlier this season.

“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, getting better day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”