When the young midfielder made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This statement proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom told in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, let alone playing in the top division and playing for England too,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
But how did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s football journey has been far from a typical one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of childhood back was something I really required.
“To gain some self-belief by returning and playing local football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention 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 – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
In just a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for his country and I think he will progress to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at the club, stated previously.
Less than three months later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
Scott experienced a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“There was a decent run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was yet another setback and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, forming a formidable understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has started this season equally as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” Scott said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
