When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That statement turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his first summons to the senior Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper throwback, a story seldom told in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the Premier League and representing England as well,” the player said previously.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
So how did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Developing in the lower tiers
His football journey has not been a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an option and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to remain on the island and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood again was a thing I definitely needed.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and playing island football was massive for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important factors that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander their owner – had been monitoring his development after an impressive start in adult football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against Luton.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at the club, remarked last year.
Within 90 days later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the team.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost four months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like almost another setback and it was shaping up as a pretty bad year 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 started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has begun this season just as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” the player stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
