When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This prediction turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the full England squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper throwback, a journey seldom seen in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing the national team as well,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have changed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
So how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Developing in the lower tiers
His path in football has not been a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he chose to stay on the island and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my mates at weekends because I had missed almost four and a half years of that experience. To have that little bit of youth again was a thing I really required.
“To gain some confidence by coming back and playing local football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his development after an impressive beginning in men’s football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against Luton.
Scott made 83 league outings for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, 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’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Within 90 days later, he signed for the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the club, waiting until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost several months.
“I had a decent run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, forming a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season just as impressively for his club, featuring in all matches to guide them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
