Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This prediction proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his maiden summons to the senior England squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and playing for England too,” the player said previously.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for me and my family.”
So how did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
His 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 each Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. To have that slice of childhood again was a thing I really required.
“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an impressive beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
Within a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he will represent England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Within 90 days after, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
Scott endured a difficult first season with the club, waiting until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“There was a decent run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and the year 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 in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season just as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to help them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my career,” Scott said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying the game, improving every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
