Back when the young midfielder made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first call-up to the senior England team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a true blast from the past, a story seldom seen in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the top division and representing England as well,” Scott stated previously.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for me and my family.”
But how did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s 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 every Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he chose to remain on the island and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of that experience. Getting that little bit of childhood back was a thing I really required.
“To gain some confidence by coming back and playing island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an promising start in men’s football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled the player. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC 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.”
Within 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.
Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the club while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he will represent his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Within 90 days later, he joined Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
Scott experienced a difficult first season with the club, waiting until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“It was almost another setback and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to help them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, getting better day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
