When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This statement proved to be something of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the senior Three Lions team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a true throwback, a journey seldom 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 featuring in the Premier League and representing England as well,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for me and my family.”
So in what way did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he opted to stay on the island and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at home with my friends at weekends because I missed almost several years of that experience. Getting that little bit of childhood again was a thing I definitely required.
“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and playing local football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial things that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his development after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the next day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
Within a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus Luton.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the division’s best XI and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for England and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at the club, stated last year.
Within three months later, he signed for the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.
“There was a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“It was yet another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, developing a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team under the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” the player said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying the game, improving day on day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
