Back when the young midfielder made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his maiden call-up to the senior Three Lions team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a proper throwback, a story rarely told in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring in the Premier League and representing the national team as well,” Scott said previously.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
So how did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has been far from a typical one.
He spent 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 mainland so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave him 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 hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to chill at home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of that experience. Getting that little bit of childhood again was something I definitely required.
“Building some self-belief by coming back and taking part in island football was massive for me. It was perhaps the most crucial things that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott 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 had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive start in adult football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against the Hatters.
He went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s best young player honour, was selected in the division’s best XI and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he will represent England and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Less than 90 days after, he joined Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being in and out of the team.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“It was almost another setback and it was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in the middle with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my career,” Scott said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying football, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
