When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the senior Three Lions team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a proper throwback, a story rarely seen in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for the national team too,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have transformed completely for me and my family.”
So how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries 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.
Rather, he opted to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my friends at weekends because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth again was something I really required.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was huge for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising start in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus the Hatters.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league outings for the club while in his teens, often being used as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he will represent England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at the club, remarked previously.
Less than three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the club, 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 equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost four months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was yet another obstacle and it was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team under the national coach.
And he has begun this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in every game to guide them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” the player said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, improving day on day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
