When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That statement proved to be something of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his maiden summons to the full England team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a true throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” the player said previously.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
But how did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
His football journey has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to remain on the island and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of youth again was something I really needed.
“Building a bit of self-belief by returning and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial factors that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander their owner – had been monitoring his development after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. From that point 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 making his first-team debut against the Hatters.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for England 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 three months later, he signed for the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
Scott endured a challenging debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost several months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the first team with the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign just as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in every game to help them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” the player stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better every day, and with luck I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
