When the young midfielder made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a story seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for the national team too,” the player said previously.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my family.”
So in what way did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
His football journey has not been a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early each 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, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he chose to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood back was something I really required.
“To gain some confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. It was perhaps the most crucial things that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half replacement in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” manager the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus Luton.
Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the club while in his teens, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was 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 down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for his country and I think he will progress to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Less than three months later, he joined the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost several months.
“I had a decent run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“It was yet another setback and it was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, developing a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has started this season just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott said recently.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, improving day on day, and with luck I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
