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When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”

This prediction proved to be something of an understatement.

Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his first call-up to the full England squad.

His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true throwback, a story seldom told in the modern game.

What’s next? A major tournament?

“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the Premier League and playing for England too,” Scott said previously.

“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”

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

Developing in the lower tiers

Scott’s football journey has not been a typical 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 home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.

Prior to he turned 13, however, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.

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

“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.

“I just wanted to chill at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth again was a thing I definitely needed.

“To gain some confidence by returning and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”

When he was just 16, Scott became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their league match at Phoenix Sports.

“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach stated back then.

“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”

Making a comeback to the pro ranks

Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his development after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.

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

“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to sign a deal.”

In just a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against the Hatters.

Scott went on to make 83 league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.

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

At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.

“No doubt, I think he will represent his country and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, the player’s manager at the club, stated last year.

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

Securing his major transfer

Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his Premier League 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.

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

“That felt like almost another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first half.”

But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.

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 Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side under the national coach.

And he has started this season equally as impressively for his club, playing in every game to guide them to the top five in the table.

“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” Scott said recently.

“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing 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.”