When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This statement turned out to be a bit 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 senior England squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true throwback, a story seldom told in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for England as well,” Scott said previously.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for myself and my family.”
But how did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to remain on the island and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my friends at weekends because I missed almost several years of that experience. To have that little bit of youth again was a thing I really required.
“Building a bit of confidence by returning and playing local football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial factors that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” manager the coach commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander their owner – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising start in men’s football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I was with the first team, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC 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 put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s best young player honour, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he will represent his country and I think he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Within three months later, he joined Bournemouth for a reported fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
Scott endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost four months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“It was yet another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a formidable understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to help them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, improving every day, and with luck I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
