When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That prediction proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first summons to the full Three Lions squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a story seldom seen in the modern game.
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 playing for England too,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my family.”
So how did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
His path in football has been far from a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart 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 starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my mates at weekends because I had missed almost several years of doing that. To have that little bit of childhood again was something I really needed.
“Building some confidence by returning and taking part in local football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial things that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half replacement in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team playmaker 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 best XI and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent his country and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Less than three months after, he joined the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
Scott endured a challenging first season with the club, waiting until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being in and out of the team.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“It was yet another obstacle and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in the middle 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 just as impressively for his club, featuring in every game to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” Scott stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
