Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That statement proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the full England team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true throwback, a journey rarely seen in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and representing England too,” Scott said previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s football journey has been far from a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he opted to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my mates at weekends because I had missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. To have that slice of childhood again was a thing I definitely needed.
“To gain some confidence by coming back and playing local football was huge for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial things that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an promising start in adult football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
In just a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus the Hatters.
He went on to make eighty-three league outings for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – 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 their best player.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at the club, stated last year.
Within three months after, he joined the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
Scott experienced a challenging debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.
“I had a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was almost another setback and it was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, developing a strong partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season equally as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to help them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” the player stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a player, maintain my love for the game, getting better day on day, and with luck I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
