When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This statement turned out to be something of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the senior Three Lions team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for England too,” Scott said previously.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have changed completely for myself and my family.”
So how did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in non-league
His path in football has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at 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 play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he opted to stay on the island and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my friends at weekends because I missed nearly several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood back was a thing I definitely required.
“Building some confidence by coming back and playing local football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial factors that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his early progress after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled Scott. “Day one I joined the youth team, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus Luton.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the club while in his teens, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s best young player award, was selected in the league’s best XI and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he will represent England and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Less than three months after, he signed for the Cherries for a understood fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out 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 almost another setback and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign equally as impressively for his club, featuring in all matches to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my career,” the player said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
