Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That statement turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his maiden summons to the senior England team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a true throwback, a journey seldom seen in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for England as well,” Scott said previously.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed drastically for me and my family.”
But in what way did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he opted to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth back was a thing I really needed.
“Building some confidence by coming back 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 became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having 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 at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an impressive beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, 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 deal.”
Within a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league outings for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and England playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent England and I think he’ll go on to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Less than 90 days after, he signed for the Cherries for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
Scott endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost four months.
“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible 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 England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in the middle with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, maintain my love for the game, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
