Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This statement turned out to be something of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his first summons to the senior England team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a proper throwback, a journey seldom seen in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for the national team too,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have changed completely for me and my loved ones.”
But how did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
His path in football has not been a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my friends at the weekend because I missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood again was something I definitely needed.
“Building a bit of self-belief by returning and playing local football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking his early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled Scott. “Day one I joined the youth team, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
Within a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
He made 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and national team playmaker Jack 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 division’s team of the year and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for his country and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at the club, stated previously.
Less than three months after, he joined Bournemouth for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost several months.
“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“It was almost another setback and it was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season equally as impressively for his club, playing in every game to help them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
