Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden summons to the senior England team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a proper throwback, a journey rarely told in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and representing the national team as well,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed completely for me and my loved ones.”
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 path in football has not been a typical one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, however, they released him. Bournemouth gave him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he opted to remain on the island and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of youth again was a thing I definitely needed.
“Building some confidence by returning and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial things that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an impressive beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said the player. “Day one I joined the under-18s, 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 scored a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
Within a year and a half, still well before 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 still a teenager, frequently being used as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for England and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
Scott experienced a difficult first season with the Cherries, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“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 England 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, forming a strong understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign equally as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, improving every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
