When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That statement turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his maiden call-up to the full England team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a proper blast from the past, a story rarely told in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, never mind playing in the Premier League and playing for England too,” Scott said previously.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Rather, 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 overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed almost four and a half years of that experience. To have that little bit of childhood back was a thing I really required.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and taking part in local football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by islander their owner – had been tracking his early progress after an promising start in adult football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled Scott. “Day one I joined the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus the Hatters.
He made 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and England playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for England and I think he will progress to the top of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Less than 90 days after, he joined Bournemouth for a reported fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him 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 Scott.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up 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, developing a formidable partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has begun this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special moments of my career,” the player stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, keep enjoying the game, getting better day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
