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When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”

That statement turned out to be a bit of an understatement.

Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his first summons to the senior England team.

His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a true blast from the past, a story rarely seen in the modern game.

Next stop? The World Cup?

“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring in the Premier League and representing the national team as well,” the player stated previously.

“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed completely for myself and my family.”

So how did Alex Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?

Developing in the lower tiers

His path in football has not been a conventional one.

He spent over four years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast 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 were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.

Instead, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.

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

“All I desired to relax at my home with my friends at weekends because I missed almost several years of that experience. Getting that little bit of childhood again was something I really required.

“Building some self-belief by returning and playing local football was massive for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that led me where I am today.”

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

“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance commented back then.

“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”

Making a comeback to the professional game

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

“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the second day I trained 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 scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”

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

Scott made 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.

With his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.

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

“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at the club, stated previously.

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

Getting his big move

Scott endured a challenging first season with the club, waiting until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.

His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly four months.

“There was quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.

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

But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.

He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, developing a strong partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.

And he has begun this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in every game to guide them to the top five in the table.

“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my career,” the player said earlier this season.

“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, keep enjoying football, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”