When the young midfielder made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his maiden call-up to the senior Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the Premier League and representing the national team as well,” Scott said previously.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my family.”
So in what way did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in non-league
His path in football has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. 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 heart was not in it.
Rather, he chose to stay on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth again was a thing I definitely required.
“Building some confidence by coming back and playing local football was massive for me. It was probably one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on 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 side because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said the player. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus the Hatters.
He went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he will represent England and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Within 90 days later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the Cherries, having to wait until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“I had a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team under the national coach.
And he has started this season just as impressively for his club, playing in all matches to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” Scott stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
