When the young midfielder made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That prediction proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the full Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a proper throwback, a story seldom seen in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone playing in the top division and representing England too,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Developing in the lower tiers
His path in football has been far from a typical one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he chose to remain on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at home with my mates at the weekend because I missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of childhood again was something I really needed.
“To gain some confidence by coming back and playing local football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an impressive beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
Within 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against Luton.
He made 83 league appearances for the club while in his teens, often being used 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.
With his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season 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 think he will represent England and I think he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the team.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.
“I had a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was yet another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season equally as impressively for his club, playing in all matches to guide them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” the player stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a player, maintain my love for the game, improving day on day, and with luck I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
