When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”
That statement turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his first summons to the full Three Lions squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a true throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern game.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the top division and representing England too,” the player stated in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for me and my family.”
So in what way did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Learning in non-league
Scott’s path in football has been far from a conventional one.
He spent over four years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, leaving school early each Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he opted to stay on the island and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to chill at home with my friends at the weekend because I missed almost several years of doing that. To have that slice of youth back was a thing I definitely needed.
“Building some self-belief by returning and playing local football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important things that got me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at Phoenix Sports.
“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – owned by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking Scott’s development after an impressive beginning in adult football and gave him a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “The first day I joined the youth team, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to sign a contract.”
Within 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut against the Hatters.
Scott made eighty-three league outings for the Robins while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – such was his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s best young player award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Less than 90 days later, he joined the Cherries for a reported fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
Scott endured a challenging debut campaign with the club, waiting until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the starting XI.
His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly several months.
“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like almost another obstacle and the year 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 for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a strong partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun this season equally as strongly for his club, playing 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,” Scott stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, improving every day, and with luck I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
