Back when the young midfielder made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That statement turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his maiden summons to the senior 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.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the Premier League and representing the national team too,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible five or six 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’, find himself at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they released him. The Cherries gave him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my mates at weekends because I had missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. To have that little bit of childhood back was a thing I really needed.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and playing island football was massive for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial things that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander their owner – had been monitoring his early progress after an impressive start in adult football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” said the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I played for his local side in London, 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 put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.
He made 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position 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 earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for 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.
Within 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost several months.
“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was yet 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 managed to get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, forming a strong understanding in the middle with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun this season just as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” the player said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
