Back 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 coach at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
This statement turned out to be something of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his maiden call-up to the senior England squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a true throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for the national team as well,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for me and my family.”
But in what way did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Learning in the lower tiers
His path in football has not been a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he chose to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“My form had dipped and flying over every week was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my mates at weekends because I missed almost four and a half years of doing that. To have that little bit of childhood again was something I really needed.
“Building a bit of self-belief by returning and playing island football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important things that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their league match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get 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 outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled Scott. “Day one 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, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut versus Luton.
Scott went on to make eighty-three league outings for the club while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – such was his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England playmaker Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for England and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at the club, stated last year.
Less than three months later, he joined the Cherries for a understood fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
The midfielder experienced a difficult first season with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly several months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and it was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first half.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in the middle with his teammate, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has started the current campaign just as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to help them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” the player said recently.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, getting better day on day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
