Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This prediction proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his first call-up to the full Three Lions team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a true blast from the past, a journey seldom told in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the Premier League and representing the national team too,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my family.”
So how did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has been far from a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to stay on the island and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed almost four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of childhood again was something I definitely needed.
“Building some confidence by returning and playing island football was huge for me. It was probably one of the most important things that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said the player. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against Luton.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s best young player honour, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent England and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Less than three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult first season with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost four months.
“There was a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad start 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 Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team under the national coach.
And he has begun this season just as impressively for his club, playing 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 life,” Scott stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
