Back when the young midfielder made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That prediction proved to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his first summons to the senior Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to possible international star 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 professional football player, let alone playing in the top division and playing for the national team as well,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for me and my family.”
So in what way did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Developing in the lower tiers
His football journey has been far from a typical one.
He was part of over four years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Before he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Instead, he chose to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.
“All I desired to relax at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that slice of childhood again was a thing I definitely required.
“Building a bit of self-belief by returning and playing island football was huge for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial factors that led me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half replacement in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an impressive start in adult football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“It was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“Midweek I played for his local side in London, returned home and on the Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus the Hatters.
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 – such was his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“No doubt, I think he will represent his country and I think he’ll go on to the top of the game,” his former manager, the player’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Within three months after, he signed for the Cherries for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a challenging debut campaign with the club, having to wait until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which ruled him out for almost four months.
“I had quite a good run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like yet another setback and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then called up 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 tournament in the host nation, forming a strong partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign just as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.
“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” the player said earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the England manager and get my chance.”
