When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This statement proved to be something of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden summons to the full Three Lions team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a proper throwback, a journey rarely seen in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, let alone playing in the top division and playing for England as well,” the player stated previously.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
But in what way did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?
Developing in non-league
His football journey has been far from a typical one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he opted to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my mates at weekends because I had missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that slice of childhood back was something I really required.
“To gain some self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was massive for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial things that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an promising start in men’s football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored 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 some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.
Scott went on to make 83 league outings for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, stated last year.
Within three months later, he signed for the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
Scott endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season just as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in every game to help them to the top five in the table.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” the player said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for football, getting better day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
