Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his first call-up to the senior England team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a true throwback, a story seldom told in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for the national team too,” Scott stated previously.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have changed completely for me and my family.”
So how 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 typical one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. The Cherries gave Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly several years of that experience. Getting that little bit of childhood back was something I definitely required.
“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial things that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said Scott. “The first day I joined the youth team, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I played for his local side in London, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he will represent his country and I think he will progress to the top of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Less than 90 days later, he signed for the Cherries for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
The midfielder experienced a challenging debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.
“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like yet another setback and it was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the first team under the national coach.
And he has begun this season equally as impressively for his club, playing in all matches to help them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
