Back when the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That statement turned out to be something of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his maiden summons to the full England team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom seen in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, never mind playing in the Premier League and playing for England too,” Scott said previously.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for me and my family.”
So how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s path in football has been far from a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
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 was not in it.
Rather, he opted to remain on the island and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. To have that little bit of childhood again was a thing I definitely needed.
“To gain some self-belief by coming back and playing island football was massive for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial factors that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half replacement in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” manager the coach stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander their owner – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an impressive start in adult football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” said the player. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
Within 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent his country and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Within three months after, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
Scott experienced a challenging first season with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.
“There was a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“It was almost another setback and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, forming a formidable partnership in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign just as impressively for his club, playing in all matches to guide them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” Scott stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
