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When Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”

That prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.

Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his maiden summons to the senior England squad.

His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a story rarely told in the modern era.

What’s next? The World Cup?

“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing England as well,” the player said in a recent interview.

“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for myself and my family.”

But how did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?

Learning in non-league

Scott’s path in football has not been a conventional one.

He was part of over four years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.

Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.

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

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

“All I desired to chill at my home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that little bit of youth back was something I really needed.

“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”

At the age of 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.

“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach 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.”

Making a comeback to the professional game

Second-tier club Bristol City – 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.

“It was chaos,” said Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.

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

In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.

He made eighty-three league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.

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

At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.

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

Less than three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.

Getting his big move

The midfielder endured 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 being in and out of the starting XI.

His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.

“I had a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.

“That felt like yet another obstacle and it was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first half.”

But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.

He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.

And he has begun the current campaign just as impressively for his club, featuring in every game to help them to fifth in the table.

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

“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”