Alex Scott’s journey from the playing fields of Guernsey to the Premier League and now England’s starting eleven already reads like a football fairytale.
But could it be about to become even more magical?
The 23-year-old Bournemouth midfielder is reportedly attracting interest from some of Europe’s biggest clubs, with Real Madrid now said to be considering joining the race for his signature.
Yes, that Real Madrid.
And the rumours come just days after Scott made his first start for England.
A first start, 7-0 win
Scott was handed his first Three Lions start as England demolished Croatia 7-0 in Rijeka.
Harry Kane and Bukayo Saka both scored twice, while Jude Bellingham, Anthony Gordon and Morgan Rogers also found the net.
Scott started in midfield alongside Elliot Anderson and produced what BBC Sport described as a “really confident performance”.
He was given 7.57 out of 10 by BBC Sport readers, with the site noting he “always looked to get on the ball” and was not afraid to play positively.
Not bad for someone who was playing eighth-tier football with Guernsey FC only a few years ago.
Scott’s rise has been remarkable.
Tony Vance gave him his Guernsey FC debut as a 16-year-old before Bristol City came calling, followed by Bournemouth and the Premier League.
Then came England.
He made his international debut from the bench and, just days later, was trusted from the start against Croatia.
And now… Real Madrid?
This is where the fairytale gets rather spectacular.
Football website TEAMtalk have reported that Real Madrid are considering entering the race for Scott.
As well as the current superstar England duo of Bellingham and Trent Alexander-Arnold, Real has been home to some of the all-time greats of world football, including David Beckham, Zinedine Zidane, and record-breaking Portuguese forward Cristiano Ronaldo.
Chelsea are reportedly in pole position, with Liverpool and Arsenal also interested.
There is no suggestion a move to Madrid is close, and this remains transfer gossip.
But the fact Scott is even being mentioned alongside one of football’s biggest clubs says plenty about how far he has come.
Real Madrid are 15-time European champions and currently have Bellingham in their midfield.
For Scott, the journey from Guernsey FC to the Santiago Bernabéu would be almost impossible to imagine.
But then again, so was England – until it happened.
After his first start, Scott described the experience as “amazing” and admitted seeing the quality around him in the England squad was “frightening”.
For anyone watching from Guernsey, that makes the story all the more special.
Before Bournemouth. Before England. Before the Premier League and the Madrid rumours there was a young Guernsey boy playing football on the island.
And if this really is the start of something even bigger, the fairytale still has plenty of pages left.
