When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This prediction proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the senior Three Lions squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a proper throwback, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone playing in the top division and representing the national team too,” Scott said previously.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for me and my family.”
So in what way did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, though, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed almost several years of doing that. To have that slice of childhood back was a thing I really needed.
“Building some self-belief by returning and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important things that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half replacement in their league match at the opposition.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager 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.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by islander their owner – had been tracking Scott’s development after an impressive beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said the player. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
Within a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.
He went on to make 83 league appearances for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he will represent his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Less than three months later, he signed for the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like almost another setback and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in the middle with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to help them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving day on day, and with luck I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
