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When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”

This prediction proved to be something of an understatement.

Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the senior Three Lions squad.

His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom 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, let alone featuring in the Premier League and playing for the national team as well,” the player stated previously.

“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”

But how did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?

Developing in the lower tiers

His football journey has been far from a conventional one.

He was part of over four years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.

Before he turned 13, though, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.

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

“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.

“I just wanted to relax at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth back was something I definitely needed.

“To gain some self-belief by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that led me to this point.”

At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.

“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach commented at the time.

“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”

Making a comeback to the pro ranks

Championship side Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his early progress after an promising start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.

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

“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to sign a deal.”

Within 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus Luton.

Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the club while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – such was his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.

Thanks to his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.

At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.

“Without question, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.

Less than three months after, he joined the Cherries for a understood fee of £25m.

Getting his major transfer

The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.

His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly four months.

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

“It was yet another obstacle and it was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first five months.”

But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.

He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side under the national coach.

And he has started the current campaign just 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, keep enjoying the game, getting better day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”