Back when the young midfielder made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That statement turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his first summons to the senior England team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, let alone featuring in the Premier League and playing for England as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my family.”
But in what way did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s football journey has not been a typical one.
He was part of 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 the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to remain on the island and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth again was something I definitely needed.
“To gain some confidence by coming back and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” manager the coach stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his early progress after an impressive start in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus Luton.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s best young player honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he will represent England and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at the club, stated last year.
Within three months later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a difficult first season with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“There was a decent run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was almost another setback and it was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the first team with the national coach.
And he has started this season equally as impressively for his club, featuring in all matches to help them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” Scott said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
