When the young midfielder made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his first call-up to the senior England squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a proper throwback, a journey seldom seen in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the Premier League and representing the national team too,” the player said previously.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Learning in non-league
His football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup 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 feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. The Cherries gave Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he chose to stay on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped 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 nearly several years of doing that. To have that slice of childhood back was a thing I definitely required.
“To gain some confidence by returning and playing local football was huge 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 the club’s records when he came on as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive beginning in men’s football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled Scott. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in London, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field 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 versus the Hatters.
Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility 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 down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at the club, stated previously.
Less than 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a difficult first season with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost several months.
“I had a decent run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was yet another setback and it was turning out to be a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for his club, featuring in every game to help them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” Scott said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, getting better every day, and with luck I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
