When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his maiden call-up to the senior Three Lions squad.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, never mind playing in the top division and representing England too,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for me and my family.”
But how did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
His football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he chose to remain on the island and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth back was something I really required.
“Building some self-belief by returning and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial things that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “Day one I joined the youth team, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a three goals. From that point a certainty 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 making his first-team debut versus Luton.
He went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s best young player 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 think he will represent England and I think he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Within three months after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
Scott endured a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, 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 team.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, forming a strong partnership in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign equally as impressively for his club, featuring in all matches to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” the player stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, getting better day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
