🔗 Share this article

When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”

That statement proved to be a bit of an underestimation.

Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his maiden call-up to the senior England squad.

His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a true throwback, a journey seldom told in the modern game.

Next stop? The World Cup?

“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, never mind featuring in the top division and playing for England as well,” the player stated previously.

“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have changed drastically for me and my loved ones.”

So how did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?

Learning in non-league

His football journey has been far from a conventional one.

He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.

Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, 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.

“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.

“I just wanted to relax at home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly four and a half years of doing that. To have that slice of childhood again was a thing I definitely needed.

“To gain some self-belief by coming back and playing island football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that got me to this point.”

At the age of 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.

“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work 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 retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”

Returning to the pro ranks

Championship side Bristol City – chaired by islander their owner – had been tracking Scott’s development after an promising start in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.

“The whole experience was chaos,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the next day I trained with the senior squad, which was a total shock.

“Midweek I played for his local side in the capital, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”

In just 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut versus the Hatters.

He went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wide defender – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.

With his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and national team playmaker Grealish.

At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was chosen in the division’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 think he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at the club, stated previously.

Less than 90 days after, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.

Getting his big move

Scott endured a challenging debut campaign with the club, waiting until the autumn to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.

His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly four months.

“I had a decent run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained he.

“It was almost another obstacle and it was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first five months.”

But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness for the tournament.

He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, developing a strong understanding in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.

And he has begun this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the table.

“To play for the England senior team would be among the most special moments of my career,” the player said recently.

“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”