Back when the young midfielder made his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That prediction proved to be a bit of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his first summons to the senior England squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the top division and playing for the national team too,” the player said previously.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my family.”
So how did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Developing in non-league
His path in football has been far from a typical one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, though, they released him. The Cherries gave him an option and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he opted to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he explained.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed almost several years of doing that. To have that slice of childhood back was a thing I really required.
“Building a bit of confidence by returning and playing island football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial things that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League match 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 at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander their owner – had been tracking Scott’s development after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“It was hectic,” recalled the player. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a deal.”
In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus Luton.
He made eighty-three league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
With his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Less than three months after, he signed for the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his major transfer
The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost four months.
“I had a decent run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“It was almost another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England 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, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the first team under the national coach.
And he has started this season equally as strongly for his club, playing in all matches to help them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” the player said recently.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, improving day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
