Back when the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This prediction proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his first call-up to the full Three Lions team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom seen in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and representing England too,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
But how did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Developing in non-league
His path in football has been far from a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to stay on the island and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. To have that slice of childhood again was something I really required.
“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and playing island football was huge for me. It was probably the most crucial factors that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander their owner – had been tracking his development after an promising start in men’s football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said the player. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league outings for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at the club, stated previously.
Less than 90 days after, he joined the Cherries for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
Scott endured a difficult first season with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost four months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like yet another setback and it was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, 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 begun the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” Scott stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying the game, getting better day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
