When the young midfielder made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This statement turned out to be something of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his first call-up to the full England squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true throwback, a story rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, never mind playing in the Premier League and playing for England as well,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for myself and my family.”
But how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Developing in the lower tiers
His football journey has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to remain on the island and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“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 childhood back was a thing I really needed.
“To gain some confidence by returning and playing local football was huge for me. It was probably one of the most important things that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” manager the coach stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising start in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I was with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against Luton.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the club while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was selected in the division’s best XI and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he will represent his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Within 90 days later, he joined Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a challenging debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“It was yet another setback and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, forming a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for his club, featuring in all matches to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, keep enjoying football, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
