Back when the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That statement proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the full England squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true throwback, a journey rarely seen in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, never mind playing in the Premier League and representing England too,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for me and my family.”
But how did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Learning in non-league
His football journey has not been a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth again was a thing I really required.
“Building some confidence by returning and playing local football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial factors that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander 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. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the second day I was with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. From that point a certainty 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 Luton.
He made eighty-three league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“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.
Within 90 days after, he joined the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
Scott endured a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost four months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“It was almost another setback and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start 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 for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, forming a strong partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to guide them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my career,” the player said recently.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying the game, getting better every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
