When the young midfielder made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden summons to the full Three Lions squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, never mind playing in the Premier League and representing the national team too,” the player said previously.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
So how did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has been far from a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they released him. The Cherries gave him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel 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. Getting that slice of childhood back was something I definitely required.
“Building some self-belief by coming back and playing island football was massive for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his early progress after an impressive start in adult football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled Scott. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent England and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Less than 90 days later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost several months.
“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, forming a strong understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” the player stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, improving every day, and with luck I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
