When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the senior Three Lions team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom told in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, never mind playing in the top division and playing for England as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he opted to remain on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth back was a thing I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by coming back and taking part in local football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial 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 was introduced as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” manager the coach commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking his early progress after an impressive beginning in adult football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in London, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
In just 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league outings for the club while still a teenager, frequently being deployed 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 the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he will represent his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at the club, stated last year.
Within 90 days later, he joined the Cherries for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
Scott endured a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“It was almost another obstacle and it was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, forming a strong partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” the player stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, improving day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
