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When Alex Scott stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”

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

Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first call-up to the full England team.

His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern game.

Next stop? The World Cup?

“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing the national team too,” Scott said in a recent interview.

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

So in what way did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?

Learning in the lower tiers

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

He was part of over four years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.

Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.

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

“My form had dipped and flying over every week was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.

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

“Building a bit of self-belief by returning and playing local football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that got me to this point.”

At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their league match at the opposition.

“I had 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.

“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”

Making a comeback to the pro ranks

Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his development after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.

“It was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a total shock.

“Midweek I played for his local side in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”

Within a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against the Hatters.

Scott went on to make 83 league outings for the club while in his teens, frequently being used as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability 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 rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.

By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.

“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, remarked last year.

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

Getting his big move

Scott experienced a difficult first season with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the team.

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

“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.

“It was almost another obstacle and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first five months.”

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

He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, forming a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the senior side under the national coach.

And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in every game to guide them to the top five in the standings.

“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my career,” the player stated recently.

“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”