When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This statement turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his maiden call-up to the senior Three Lions squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a proper throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing the national team too,” Scott said previously.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen 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 conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he chose to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed almost several years of doing that. To have that slice of childhood again was a thing I definitely required.
“To gain some self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced 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 get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an promising beginning in men’s football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled Scott. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in London, travelled back and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus Luton.
He went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for England and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Within 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, 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 good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” the player stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
