Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This prediction proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his first call-up to the full Three Lions team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a true throwback, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the top division and representing England too,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed completely for me and my family.”
But in what way did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Developing in the lower tiers
His football journey has not been a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he chose to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed almost several years of doing that. To have that slice of childhood again was something I really needed.
“Building some self-belief by returning and taking part in local 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, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian 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 his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an impressive beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in late 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 total surprise.
“Midweek I played for his local side in London, returned home and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league outings for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he will represent England and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Within 90 days later, he joined Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was almost another setback and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then called up 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 formidable partnership in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign just as strongly for his club, playing in all matches to help them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” the player stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
