When the young midfielder made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the full Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a true throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and representing England too,” Scott stated previously.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed completely for myself and my family.”
So how did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s path in football has not been a typical one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an option and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my mates at weekends because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of childhood again was a thing I definitely required.
“Building some confidence by coming back and taking part in island football was huge for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important factors that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an impressive beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled Scott. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
Within a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.
Scott made eighty-three league outings for the club while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Less than 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
Scott endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the team.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“It was yet another setback and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season just as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” the player stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying football, improving day on day, and with luck I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
