When the young midfielder made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That statement turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a true throwback, a journey seldom seen in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, let alone playing in the top division and representing the national team as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my family.”
But in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
His path in football has been far from a typical one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, however, they released him. 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 turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of that experience. To have that slice of youth again was a thing I really required.
“To gain some confidence by returning and playing local football was massive for me. It was probably one of the most important things that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an promising start in adult football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against the Hatters.
He made 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like yet another setback and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign just as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” the player stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, maintain my love for the game, getting better day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
