When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his first summons to the full England squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper throwback, a journey rarely told in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the Premier League and representing England as well,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for me and my family.”
But how did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has not been a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him 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 remain on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted 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 slice of youth again was a thing I really required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an impressive start in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
In just 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against the Hatters.
He made eighty-three league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he will represent England and I think he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Less than 90 days after, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced a challenging first season with the club, having to wait until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like yet another setback and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start 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 started five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season just as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” Scott said recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, improving day on day, and with luck I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
