Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the senior Three Lions team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a proper throwback, a journey rarely told in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the top division and playing for England as well,” Scott said previously.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my family.”
But how did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Learning in the lower tiers
His football journey has been far from a typical one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to relax at home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. To have that slice of childhood back was a thing I definitely required.
“Building a bit of self-belief by coming back and playing local football was massive for me. It was perhaps one of the most important things that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team 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 way he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in London, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against Luton.
He made eighty-three league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to 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 City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s best XI and was voted the club’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 top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.
Within three months later, he signed for the Cherries for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost several months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and it was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a strong understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign just as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving day on day, and with luck I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
