When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This statement proved to be something of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his maiden summons to the senior England team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a true throwback, a story seldom seen in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and representing the national team too,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed completely for me and my loved ones.”
So how did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
His path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he chose to remain on the island and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth again was something I definitely needed.
“To gain some confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial factors that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” manager the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – 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 December 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I played for his local side in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
Within 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.
He made eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he will represent his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at the club, stated previously.
Within three months later, he joined the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“There was a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like almost another setback and it was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season just as strongly for his club, featuring in all matches to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” the player stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, improving every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
