Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That prediction proved to be something of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his first summons to the senior England team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the Premier League and representing the national team as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, though, they released him. The Cherries gave Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he opted to stay on the island and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost four and a half years of doing that. To have that slice of childhood again was a thing I really required.
“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I had 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.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander their owner – had been monitoring his development after an impressive beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled the player. “The first day I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus the Hatters.
He made 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he will represent England and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at the club, remarked last year.
Within 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a difficult first season with the Cherries, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like almost another setback and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a formidable understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign just as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to help them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” the player stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
