Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This prediction proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his maiden summons to the full England squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true blast from the past, a journey seldom seen in the modern era.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for the national team too,” Scott stated previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
So how did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Developing in the lower tiers
His football journey has been far from a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he chose to stay on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my friends at weekends because I missed almost four and a half years of doing that. To have that slice of youth back was something I really needed.
“Building some self-belief by coming back and taking part in island football was huge for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial factors that led me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an impressive beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus Luton.
He made eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position 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 England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’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 sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at the club, stated last year.
Within three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a difficult first season with the Cherries, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost four months.
“There was a decent run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“It was yet another setback and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has started this season just as impressively for his club, featuring in all matches to guide them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, improving day on day, and with luck I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
