When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That statement proved to be something of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden summons to the senior England team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a proper throwback, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, never mind featuring 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 completely for myself and my family.”
So in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has been far from a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, however, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my friends at weekends because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth again was something I really needed.
“Building some self-belief by returning and playing local football was massive for me. It was perhaps the most crucial things that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” manager the coach commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive beginning in adult football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus Luton.
He went on to make eighty-three league outings for the club while in his teens, frequently being used as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he will represent England and I think he’ll go on to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Less than 90 days after, he signed for the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
Scott endured a challenging first season with the club, waiting until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His second campaign was equally affected, 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 nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and it was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” Scott said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a player, keep enjoying the game, getting better day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
