Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his first summons to the full England team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true blast from the past, a story rarely seen in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the Premier League and representing the national team too,” the player said previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my family.”
But in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Developing in non-league
His football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He spent over four years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they released him. The Cherries gave Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at weekends because I had missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. Getting that little bit of childhood back was something I really needed.
“To gain some confidence by coming back and playing island football was massive for me. It was probably one of the most important things that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander their owner – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I played for his local side in London, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against Luton.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent his country and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at the club, remarked last year.
Within three months after, he signed for the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder experienced a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“It was yet another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has begun this season just as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” Scott stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
