When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a proper throwback, a journey rarely seen in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and representing England as well,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Developing in non-league
His path in football has not been a conventional one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an option 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 the island and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my friends at weekends because I had missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. To have that slice of childhood back was something I definitely needed.
“Building a bit of self-belief by returning and playing island football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an promising start in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “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 the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
In just 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus Luton.
He went on to make eighty-three league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed 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 think he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Within 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott endured a difficult first season with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“I had a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“It was yet another obstacle and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in 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, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season just as impressively for his club, featuring in all matches to guide them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my career,” the player said recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, improving day on day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
