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Back when Alex Scott made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”

This statement turned out to be something of an understatement.

Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first call-up to the full Three Lions squad.

His rise from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom seen in the modern game.

Next stop? The World Cup?

“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for England as well,” the player stated previously.

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

So in what way did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?

Developing in the lower tiers

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

He was part of over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.

Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.

Instead, he opted to remain on the island and turn out for his hometown club.

“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.

“All I desired to chill at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. To have that slice of youth again was a thing I really needed.

“Building some self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was massive for me. It was probably one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”

At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their league match at the opposition.

“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.

“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”

Making a comeback to the pro ranks

Championship side Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his early progress after an impressive beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in late 2019.

“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.

“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”

Within 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.

Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the club while in his teens, frequently being used as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.

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

By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s best young player honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.

“Without question, I believe he’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at the club, stated last year.

Within 90 days after, he signed for the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of £25m.

Securing his major transfer

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

His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly four months.

“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.

“It was yet another obstacle and it was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first five months.”

But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.

He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the first team with the national coach.

And he has begun the current campaign just as strongly for his club, featuring in all matches to help them to the top five in the standings.

“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” the player said earlier this season.

“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, getting better day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”