Back when the young midfielder made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This statement turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom seen in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for the national team too,” Scott stated previously.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
But how did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Learning in non-league
His football journey has not been a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he opted to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed almost several years of that experience. Getting that little bit of youth again was a thing I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by coming back and playing local football was massive for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring his development after an promising beginning in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in London, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the game,” his former manager, the player’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Within three months later, he signed for the Cherries for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
Scott endured a difficult first season with the Cherries, waiting until October to make his Premier League 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 sidelined him for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like yet another setback and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign just as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to help them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my career,” the player said recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
