When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That prediction proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his maiden summons to the full England team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a true blast from the past, a story seldom told in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, let alone playing in the Premier League and playing for England too,” the player said previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Developing in the lower tiers
His football journey has not been a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, though, they released him. The Cherries gave him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at home with my friends at weekends because I missed nearly several years of that experience. To have that slice of childhood back was something I really needed.
“Building some self-belief by coming back and playing local football was massive for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important things that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” manager the coach commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising beginning in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled the player. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against Luton.
Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, stated last year.
Within 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like almost another setback and it 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 for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, forming a strong understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season just as impressively for his club, featuring in all matches to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” the player stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
