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Back when the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”

This statement turned out to be something of an understatement.

Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden call-up to the full England team.

His rise from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a true throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern era.

Next stop? The World Cup?

“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” Scott said previously.

“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for me and my family.”

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

Learning in the lower tiers

His path in football has been far from a conventional one.

He was part of over four years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.

Before his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.

Rather, he chose to stay on the island and play for his local team.

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

“I just wanted to chill at my home with my mates at weekends because I had missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of youth again was a thing I really required.

“Building some self-belief by coming back and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important things that got me to this point.”

At the age of 16, Scott became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.

“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,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented at the time.

“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”

Making a comeback to the pro ranks

Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and arranged a trial in late 2019.

“The whole experience was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.

“Midweek I featured for his local side in London, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a contract.”

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

He went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.

With his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team playmaker Grealish.

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

“Without question, I think he will represent England and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated last year.

Within three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.

Getting his major transfer

The midfielder experienced a difficult first season with the club, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.

His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly four 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 Scott.

“That felt like yet another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first five months.”

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

He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.

And he has started the current campaign equally as impressively for his club, playing in all matches to guide them to the top five in the standings.

“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.

“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and with luck I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”