When the young midfielder made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That prediction proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his first summons to the full Three Lions squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom seen in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone playing in the top division and playing for the national team too,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for me and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
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 from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an option and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he chose to remain on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at home with my friends at weekends because I missed nearly several years of that experience. To have that slice of childhood back was a thing I really needed.
“Building some self-belief by coming back and taking part in island football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial things that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking Scott’s development after an promising start in adult football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
Within 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league outings for the club while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he will represent England and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Within three months later, he joined the Cherries for a reported transfer 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 make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“It was almost another setback and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible year 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 for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a formidable partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to help them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, improving every day, and with luck I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
