When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This statement proved to be something of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first call-up to the senior England team.
His ascent 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? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and playing for England too,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for myself and my family.”
So how did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. The Cherries gave him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to stay on the island and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to chill at home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. To have that little bit of childhood again was something I really required.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by coming back and playing local football was massive for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important factors that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” manager the coach commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an promising start in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC 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 sign a deal.”
In just 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against Luton.
Scott made eighty-three league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at the club, stated last year.
Less than three months after, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
Scott endured a challenging first season with the club, waiting until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and it was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the first team under the national coach.
And he has begun this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to guide them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” the player said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, improving every day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
