When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his maiden summons to the senior England squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and playing for the national team too,” the player stated previously.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s football journey has not been a typical one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, however, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“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 self-belief by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial factors that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping 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.
“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 islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his development after an impressive start in adult football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the second day I was with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he will represent his country and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, stated last year.
Less than three months after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“There was a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“It was almost another obstacle and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
