Back when the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That statement turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a true throwback, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing England too,” the player said previously.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for me and my loved ones.”
So how did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s football journey has been far from a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer 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 stay on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. To have that slice of youth again was something I definitely required.
“Building some self-belief by returning and playing local football was huge for me. It was probably one of the most important 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 came on as a 57th-minute replacement in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, 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 Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus Luton.
He went on to make eighty-three league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season award, was selected in the league’s best XI and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he will represent his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, remarked last year.
Within three months after, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
Scott experienced a difficult first season with the club, having to wait until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being in and out of the team.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, 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,” said he.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and it was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, developing a strong understanding in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has started this season just as strongly for his club, playing in all matches to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” the player stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
