When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This statement proved to be something of an understatement.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the senior Three Lions squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a true throwback, a story seldom told in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and representing England as well,” the player stated previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed completely for me and my family.”
But how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself here?
Developing in the lower tiers
His football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his local team.
“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed nearly four and a half years of that experience. To have that slice of childhood again was a thing I definitely required.
“Building a bit of self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was perhaps one of the most important factors that got me where I am today.”
At the age of 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute 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,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his development after an promising beginning in men’s football and arranged a trial in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled Scott. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
In just a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against Luton.
He went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s best young player honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he’ll play for England and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.
Within 90 days later, he joined Bournemouth for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder experienced a challenging debut campaign with the club, having to wait until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for almost four months.
“There was quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first five months.”
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 Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the first team under the national coach.
And he has started this season just as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my life,” the player stated recently.
“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better every day, and with luck I impress the national coach and get my chance.”
