Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of 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 a bit of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom seen in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and representing the national team as well,” Scott stated previously.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
His football journey has not been a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly several years of doing that. Getting that slice of childhood back was a thing I definitely required.
“Building some self-belief by returning and playing local football was massive for me. It was probably one of the most important things that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute 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 he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – such was his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’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 believe he will represent his country and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, stated last year.
Within 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
Scott endured a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being in and out of the team.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“It was almost another setback and it was turning out to be a pretty bad year 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 started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign just as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to help them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” the player stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying the game, getting better day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
