When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his first summons to the full Three Lions team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, never mind featuring in the Premier League and representing England too,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for myself and my family.”
But in what way did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an option and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to stay on the island and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed nearly several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth back was something I definitely required.
“To gain some self-belief by returning and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial 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 was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus Luton.
Scott made 83 league outings for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, remarked last year.
Within 90 days later, he joined Bournemouth for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like almost another setback and it was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
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 Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the first team with the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign equally as impressively for his club, featuring in every game to help them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” the player stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, keep enjoying the game, improving every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
