When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This prediction proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his maiden summons to the full Three Lions team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a true throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the Premier League and representing England as well,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for myself and my family.”
So in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Learning in non-league
His path in football has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he chose to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost four and a half years of doing that. To have that slice of youth back was a thing I really required.
“Building a bit of self-belief by returning and playing local football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial things that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander their owner – had been tracking his early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus the Hatters.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league outings for the club while in his teens, frequently being used as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he will represent his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing 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 injury in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was yet another obstacle and the year was shaping up as 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 Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the first team with the national coach.
And he has started this season just as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” the player stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving day on day, and with luck I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
