When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This statement turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the full Three Lions team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true blast from the past, a journey seldom seen in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and playing for the national team too,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for me and my family.”
But in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Learning in the lower tiers
His path in football has not been a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an option and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my friends at weekends because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of childhood again was a thing I really needed.
“To gain some self-belief by coming back and playing local football was massive for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their league match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager 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 professional game
Championship side the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on 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 the Hatters.
He went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s young player of the season award, 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 believe he will represent his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
The midfielder experienced a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make 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 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 Scott.
“That felt like yet another setback and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, forming a strong partnership in the middle with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season just as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in every game to guide them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” the player said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
