Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That statement turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden summons to the senior England squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a proper throwback, a journey rarely seen in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division and representing the national team as well,” the player stated previously.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for me and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Developing in non-league
His path in football has not been a typical one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my mates at weekends because I missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of childhood again was a thing I really needed.
“To gain some self-belief by returning and playing local football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an impressive beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against Luton.
He made 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to 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 team of the year 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 pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Within three months after, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was almost another obstacle and it was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, forming a strong understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season equally as impressively for his club, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott said recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, improving day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
