When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This statement proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, let alone playing in the Premier League and playing for England too,” the player said previously.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
But how did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Learning in non-league
His path in football has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth gave him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he chose to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed almost four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of youth again was something I really required.
“Building a bit of self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important things that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an impressive beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in London, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
In just 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s 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 award, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at the club, remarked last year.
Less than three months after, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost several months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was almost another obstacle 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 U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season equally as strongly for his club, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my career,” the player said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
