When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This statement proved to be something of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his maiden summons to the full Three Lions squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a true throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring in the Premier League and representing the national team as well,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for me and my loved ones.”
So how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Developing in non-league
His football journey has been far from a typical one.
He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he opted to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my friends at weekends because I had missed almost four and a half years of that experience. To have that slice of youth again was something I really required.
“Building some confidence by returning and playing island football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I was with the first team, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
In just 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against Luton.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he will represent England and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Less than three months after, he signed for the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a challenging 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 finding himself in and out of the team.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like yet another setback and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has excelled for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season just as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my life,” Scott said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, improving every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
