Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the full England team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone playing in the top division and representing the national team too,” Scott said previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for me and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Developing 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, leaving school early 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 he turned 13, however, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he opted to remain on the island and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. To have that slice of youth again was something I definitely required.
“Building some self-belief by coming back and playing island football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial factors that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season award, was selected in the division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent England and I think he will progress to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at the club, stated last year.
Within 90 days later, he joined the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a difficult first season with the club, waiting until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was just as disrupted, 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 fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like yet 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 U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, forming a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to help them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” Scott said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, improving day on day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
