When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That prediction proved to be something of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a proper throwback, a story seldom seen in the modern game.
What’s next? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the Premier League and representing England too,” the player stated previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for me and my family.”
So how did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Learning in non-league
His football journey has not been a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his island home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to stay on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling 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 almost several years of that experience. To have that slice of youth back was a thing I really needed.
“To gain a bit of self-belief by returning and taking part in local football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial things that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising start in adult football and gave him a trial in late 2019.
“It was hectic,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
In just 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus Luton.
He went on to make eighty-three league outings for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Within three months after, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
The midfielder experienced a difficult first season with the club, waiting until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost four months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like yet another setback and it was shaping up as a pretty bad start for the first five months.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season equally as impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to help them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” the player stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I must keep progressing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving day on day, and with luck I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
