Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That prediction turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first summons to the full England team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom seen in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and playing for the national team too,” Scott stated previously.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed completely for me and my family.”
So how did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Developing in the lower tiers
His path in football has not been a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he chose to stay on the island and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my friends at weekends because I missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. To have that little bit of childhood again was something I definitely required.
“To gain some self-belief by returning and taking part in local football was massive for me. It was probably one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their league match at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive beginning in adult football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
In just 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against the Hatters.
He made eighty-three league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for England and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Within 90 days later, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him 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 he.
“It was almost another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England 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 went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the first team with the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches 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 said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
