Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That statement turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the Premier League and representing England too,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have changed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
But how did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Developing in the lower tiers
His football journey has not been a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, however, they released him. Bournemouth gave him 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 remain on the island and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at home with my friends at weekends because I missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood again was something I definitely needed.
“Building some confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important things that led 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 second-half replacement in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus the Hatters.
Scott went on to make 83 league outings for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign 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 top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at the club, stated previously.
Within 90 days after, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being in and out of the team.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was almost another obstacle and it was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the first team with the national coach.
And he has started this season just as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to help them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” the player said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, improving every day, and with luck I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
