When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That statement turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his first summons to the full England team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a true blast from the past, a journey seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the top division and playing for England too,” the player said previously.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for me and my family.”
So how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Learning in the lower tiers
His path in football has not been a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an option and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he opted to remain on the island and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. To have that little bit of youth again was something I definitely needed.
“To gain some confidence by coming back and taking part in island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial factors that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” manager the coach commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen 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 pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an promising start in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I played for his local side in London, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against the Hatters.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league outings for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s best young player award, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Within three months later, he joined Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
The midfielder experienced a challenging debut campaign with the club, waiting until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible 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 went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, forming a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign just as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my career,” the player said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, getting better day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
