Back when the young midfielder made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This prediction proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his first call-up to the senior Three Lions squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my family.”
But how did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Learning in non-league
His path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed almost several years of doing that. To have that little bit of childhood again was something I definitely needed.
“Building some confidence by returning and playing local football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute 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 team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an impressive start in adult football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the next day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus the Hatters.
He made 83 league outings for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he will represent his country and I think he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at the club, stated last year.
Within 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“There was a decent run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like almost another setback and it was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, forming a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to help them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” the player stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, getting better day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
