When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That statement proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his first summons to the senior Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring in the Premier League and representing the national team as well,” the player said previously.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before his 13th birthday, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my friends at weekends because I had missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. Getting that slice of youth back was a thing I definitely needed.
“Building a bit of self-belief by coming back and playing island football was huge for me. It was probably one of the most important factors that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach stated back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an impressive start in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” said the player. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against Luton.
Scott made 83 league outings for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – such was his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and national team attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he will represent England and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Within three months later, he joined the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being in and out of the team.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“There was a decent run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was almost another obstacle and it was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, developing a formidable partnership in the middle with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” Scott said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying football, improving every day, and with luck I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
