Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This prediction proved to be something of an understatement.
Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first summons to the senior England team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom told in the modern era.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for the national team too,” Scott stated previously.
“It’s been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed completely for me and my family.”
So how did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Developing in non-league
His football journey has not been a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before his 13th birthday, however, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an option and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to stay on the island and play 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 my home with my mates at weekends because I had missed almost four and a half years of that experience. To have that slice of youth again was something I really needed.
“Building a bit of self-belief by coming back and playing island football was massive for me. It was probably one of the most important factors that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their Isthmian League match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance stated back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled the player. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I played for his local side in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. From that point a done deal 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 the Hatters.
He made 83 league outings for the club while in his teens, frequently being used as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – such was his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the game,” his former manager, the player’s manager at the club, remarked previously.
Within 90 days after, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“I had a decent run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was almost another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible year for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, forming a strong partnership in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team under the national coach.
And he has started this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to guide them to fifth in the table.
“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my life,” Scott said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
