When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That statement turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his first summons to the full Three Lions team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true blast from the past, a story seldom seen in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring in the Premier League and playing for England as well,” Scott stated previously.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Developing in non-league
His football journey has not been a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth again was something I really needed.
“To gain some confidence by coming back and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial factors that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented back then.
“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 – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his early progress after an impressive start in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled Scott. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the second day I was with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
Within 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against the Hatters.
He went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for England and I think he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at the club, stated last year.
Less than 90 days after, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
Scott endured a difficult first season with the club, 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 starting XI.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was almost another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” the player said recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, improving every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
