When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his maiden call-up to the senior England team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom told in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the top division and playing for the national team too,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for myself and my family.”
So how did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s path in football has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an option and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my friends at weekends because I missed almost four and a half years of that experience. Getting that slice of youth back was a thing I really needed.
“To gain some confidence by coming back and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was probably one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking his early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled Scott. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – such was his adaptability 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 moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he will represent his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Less than three months later, he signed for the Cherries for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
Scott experienced a challenging first season with the club, waiting until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“I had a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season equally as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in every game to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” the player said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
