When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That statement turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his first summons to the full Three Lions squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom seen in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, let alone featuring in the Premier League and playing for England too,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed completely for me and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he opted to remain on the island and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of childhood again was a thing I definitely needed.
“To gain some self-belief by returning and playing island football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half 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,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an promising start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he will represent England and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at the club, remarked previously.
Less than 90 days later, he joined Bournemouth for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“I had 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 obstacle and it was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
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 claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, developing a strong partnership in the middle with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season just as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in every game to help them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
