When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This statement turned out to be a bit of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the senior England squad.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a proper throwback, a story seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the Premier League and representing England too,” Scott stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances 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?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has not been a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he opted to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. To have that little bit of youth again was something I really required.
“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and playing island football was massive for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his development after an promising start in adult football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
In just 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus Luton.
He made eighty-three league outings for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I think he will progress to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at the club, remarked last year.
Within three months after, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
Scott experienced a difficult first season with the club, having to wait until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being in and out of the team.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost several months.
“There was a decent run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“It was yet another obstacle and it was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first five months.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has begun the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in every game to help them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my career,” Scott said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, improving every day, and with luck I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
