Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That statement proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true throwback, a story seldom seen in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, never mind playing in the top division and playing for England as well,” the player said previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my family.”
But in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth 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 opted to stay on the island and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed almost several years of that experience. To have that little bit of childhood back was a thing I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and taking part in local football was massive for me. It was perhaps the most crucial things that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” said the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
In just a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.
He went on to make 83 league appearances 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 flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he will represent England and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at the club, stated last year.
Within 90 days after, he joined Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
The midfielder experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being in and out of the team.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost four months.
“There was a decent run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was almost another setback and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign just as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, keep enjoying the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
