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 back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
That prediction turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his first summons to the full England team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential 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 no chance of making it as a professional football player, never mind playing in the Premier League and representing England too,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
So how did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
His football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my friends at the weekend because I missed almost four and a half years of doing that. To have that little bit of youth again was a thing I definitely required.
“To gain some self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was probably one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” manager the coach commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side the Robins – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an promising beginning in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said Scott. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against Luton.
He went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position 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 playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he will represent his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, the player’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Less than 90 days later, he joined the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of £25m.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to earn 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 ruled him out for nearly four months.
“There was a decent run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and it was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, developing a formidable partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” the player said recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, getting better day on day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
