Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That statement proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden summons to the full England squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and representing England as well,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in non-league
His football journey has not been a conventional one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, however, they released him. The Cherries gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he opted to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my mates at the weekend because I missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. To have that slice of childhood back was a thing I definitely required.
“Building some self-belief by returning and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial things that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking his early progress after an promising start in men’s football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the second day I was with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against the Hatters.
He made 83 league outings for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and versatility. 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 rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was named 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 game,” his former manager, the player’s manager at the club, remarked last year.
Within three months after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a difficult first season with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost several months.
“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was almost another obstacle and it was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign just as impressively for his club, 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 life,” the player stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, getting better day on day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
