Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This statement proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his first summons to the full England team.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom seen in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for the national team too,” Scott said previously.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
But how did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they released him. The Cherries gave him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood again was a thing I definitely needed.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important things that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” manager the coach stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” said 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.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus the Hatters.
He made 83 league outings for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, remarked last year.
Less than 90 days after, he joined Bournemouth for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being in and out of the team.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.
“I had a decent run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like almost another setback 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 Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” the player said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying the game, improving every day, and with luck I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
