When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That prediction turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his first call-up to the full England team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division and representing the national team too,” Scott stated previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for myself and my family.”
So how did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Developing in non-league
His path in football has not been a typical one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of 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 train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, though, they released him. The Cherries gave him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he chose to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my friends at the weekend because I missed almost four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of childhood back was something I really required.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” manager the coach stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an promising start in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I played for his local side in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
Within 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against the Hatters.
Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he will represent England and I think he’ll go on to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, remarked previously.
Less than 90 days after, he joined the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation 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,” explained Scott.
“That felt like almost another setback and it was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, developing a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign just as impressively for his club, playing in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” the player said recently.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
