When the young midfielder made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This statement proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his first call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the top division and playing for England too,” Scott said previously.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
But how did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s path in football has not been a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s youth system starting at 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.
Before he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to chill at home with my mates at weekends because I missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth back was something I definitely required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by coming back and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his early progress after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled Scott. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
In just a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus Luton.
Scott made 83 league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s best young player honour, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he will represent England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Less than 90 days later, he joined the Cherries for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the team.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like almost another setback and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad start 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 England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in the host nation, developing a formidable understanding in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side under the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign just as impressively for his club, playing in every game to help them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, keep enjoying football, improving day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
