Back when the young midfielder made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That statement turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his maiden call-up to the senior England squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true throwback, a story seldom seen in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, let alone playing in the Premier League and playing for England as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
But how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has been far from a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, though, 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 mind was not in it.
Rather, he chose to stay on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed almost several years of that experience. Getting that little bit of childhood again was something I definitely needed.
“To gain some confidence by returning and taking part in island football was massive for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been tracking his early progress after an impressive start in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled Scott. “Day one I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek I featured for his local side in London, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.
Scott made 83 league appearances for the club while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he will represent his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, remarked previously.
Less than three months later, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
Scott experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost four months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“It was almost another setback and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first half.”
But he was then called up 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 games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, 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 Bournemouth, playing in every game to help them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” Scott stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, improving day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
