When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That prediction turned out to be something of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for the national team too,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
So how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in non-league
His football journey has not been a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he chose to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of that experience. Getting that slice of youth again was something I definitely required.
“Building a bit of confidence by returning and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was probably one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an impressive start in adult football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the second day I was with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against the Hatters.
Scott made eighty-three league outings for the club while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role 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 ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent England and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, remarked previously.
Less than 90 days later, he joined Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
Scott experienced a challenging first season with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn 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 affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost several months.
“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has begun this season just as impressively for his club, playing in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” the player stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
