When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first summons to the full England squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a true throwback, a story seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and playing for the national team too,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
But how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
His football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, leaving school early 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 his 13th birthday, though, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he opted to stay on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly 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 had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth again was something I really needed.
“To gain some confidence by returning and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important factors that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his development after an impressive start in adult football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” said Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
In just 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against the Hatters.
He made eighty-three league outings for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for England and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced a difficult first season with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like almost another setback and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, developing a formidable 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 just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to help them to the top five in the table.
“To play for 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 continue developing as a player, keep enjoying football, improving day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
