Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “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 the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the senior England squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a proper throwback, a story rarely told in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the Premier League and playing for England too,” Scott said previously.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s path in football has been far from a typical one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, leaving school early 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.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an option and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he opted to remain on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of childhood back was a thing I really required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and playing local football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial factors that led me to this point.”
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 substitute in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an promising start in adult football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the second day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus Luton.
He went on to make 83 league outings for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – such was his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he will represent England and I think he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Less than three months later, he signed for the Cherries for a understood fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was almost another obstacle and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season just as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my life,” the player stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
