When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That prediction turned out to be something of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden call-up to the senior England team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, never mind playing in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” the player stated previously.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my family.”
But in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has been far from a typical one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, however, they released him. Bournemouth gave him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to stay on the island and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at home with my mates at weekends because I missed almost several years of that experience. To have that slice of youth again was a thing I definitely required.
“Building some confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. It was perhaps the most crucial things that led 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 57th-minute replacement in their league match at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the next day I was with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the club while in his teens, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his ability to carry 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 Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he will represent his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Within three months later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost four months.
“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like yet another setback and it was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign equally as impressively for his club, featuring in all matches to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” the player said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better day on day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
