When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That prediction proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden call-up to the senior Three Lions squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a story rarely told in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the Premier League and representing England too,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s path in football has not been a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train 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 opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he opted to stay on the island and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood back was a thing I definitely needed.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and playing island football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an impressive beginning in men’s football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” said Scott. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I played for his local side in London, 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 put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against Luton.
Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’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’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Within 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
Scott experienced a difficult first season with the club, having to wait until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, forming a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has begun this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to help them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” Scott said recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, improving every day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
