Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his maiden call-up to the senior England team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom seen in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and representing England too,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my family.”
But in what way did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, however, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“All I desired to chill at home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed almost several years of that experience. Getting that slice of youth again was a thing I really needed.
“To gain a bit of confidence by coming back and playing local football was huge for me. It was probably one of the most important things that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander their owner – had been tracking Scott’s development after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the second day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I played for his local side in London, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – such was his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for England and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Less than three months after, he signed for the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
Scott experienced a challenging first season with the Cherries, having to wait until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.
“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first half.”
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 Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, forming a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season equally as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to help them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions 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 day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
