When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That statement turned out to be something of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the senior England team.
His ascent 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?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the Premier League and representing England too,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have changed completely for myself and my family.”
So how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Developing in non-league
His football journey has not been a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, though, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he chose to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost several years of doing that. To have that little bit of childhood back was something I definitely needed.
“Building some self-belief by returning and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his development after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the next day I was with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
In just 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus the Hatters.
He went on to make eighty-three league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – 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 the standout performer.
With his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team playmaker 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 division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for England and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at the club, remarked previously.
Within 90 days after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott endured a difficult first season with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the team.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost several months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was almost another obstacle 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 regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, developing a formidable partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for his club, playing in all matches to help them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” the player stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
