Back when the young midfielder made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his first call-up to the senior Three Lions team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a proper throwback, a journey seldom seen in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and representing England as well,” the player said previously.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for myself and my family.”
So in what way did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, though, they released him. The Cherries gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he opted to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth back was something I really required.
“To gain some confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was huge for me. It was probably one of the most important things that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring his development after an impressive beginning in men’s football and gave him 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 first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
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 City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season award, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Less than 90 days after, he joined Bournemouth for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
The midfielder experienced a challenging first season with the Cherries, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost several months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and it was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” the player stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a player, keep enjoying the game, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
