When the young midfielder made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That statement proved to be something of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his maiden summons to the senior England squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a true blast from the past, a story rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, let alone featuring in the Premier League and representing the national team too,” Scott said previously.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
But how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s path in football has not been a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he chose to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood again was a thing I definitely needed.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by coming back and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was probably the most crucial things that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” manager the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking Scott’s development after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled Scott. “Day one I joined the youth team, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
Within 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 eighty-three league outings for the club while in his teens, frequently being used as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – such was his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, stated last year.
Within three months later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
Scott endured a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being in and out of the team.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“It was almost another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to help them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a player, keep enjoying football, improving every day, and with luck I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
