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Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”

That statement turned out to be something of an understatement.

Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his first call-up to the senior England squad.

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

Next stop? The World Cup?

“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and representing the national team as well,” the player said previously.

“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have changed completely for myself and my loved ones.”

But in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?

Learning in the lower tiers

His football journey has been far from a typical one.

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

Before he turned 13, however, they released him. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.

Instead, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his local team.

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

“I just wanted to relax at my home with my friends at weekends because I missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth again was something I really needed.

“To gain a bit of confidence by coming back and playing local football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that led me where I am today.”

At the age of 16, the teenager 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’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” manager the coach 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 Bristol City – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring his development after an promising start in adult football and gave him a trial in late 2019.

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

“Midweek I featured for his local side in London, returned home and by Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”

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

Scott made 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.

With his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.

By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.

“No doubt, I think he’ll play for England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at the club, stated previously.

Within 90 days after, he joined Bournemouth for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.

Getting his big move

Scott endured a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.

His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost several months.

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

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

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

He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in 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 started the current campaign just as impressively for his club, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.

“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott said earlier this season.

“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, keep enjoying football, getting better day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”