Back when the young midfielder made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This prediction proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden call-up to the senior Three Lions squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a true throwback, a journey rarely seen in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, never mind playing in the Premier League and representing the national team too,” Scott stated previously.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed completely for me and my family.”
So in what way did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Developing in the lower tiers
His football journey has not been a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island 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 decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. To have that little bit of youth back was a thing I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and playing local football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander their owner – had been monitoring his development after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled the player. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the next day I was with the first team, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to sign a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wide defender – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent England and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Less than 90 days after, he signed for the Cherries for a understood fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder endured a challenging first season with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the team.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost four months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“It was almost another obstacle and it was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the first team under the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign just as strongly for his club, playing in every game to help them to the top five in the standings.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” the player said recently.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, getting better day on day, and with luck I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
