Back when the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his first summons to the full Three Lions team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a proper throwback, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the Premier League and playing for 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 me and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He was part of 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 the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he chose to stay on the island and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of childhood back was something I really required.
“Building some self-belief by coming back and taking part in local football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the next day I was with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I played for his local side in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. From that point 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 against the Hatters.
He went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was voted the club’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 game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Within three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
Scott experienced a difficult first season with the club, waiting until the autumn 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 following season was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“I had a decent run at the close of last season, 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 start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign just as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” the player said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and with luck I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
