Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an understatement.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the senior England squad.
His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a true blast from the past, a story rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for the national team as well,” Scott stated previously.
“It has been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have transformed completely for myself and my family.”
So how did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up at this level?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s path in football has been far from a typical one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his island home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to stay on Guernsey 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.
“I just wanted to relax at my home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of childhood again was something I really required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. It was probably the most crucial factors that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half substitute 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 Tony Vance commented back then.
“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s early progress after an impressive beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” said Scott. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.
“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in London, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.
He went on to make eighty-three league outings for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his versatility and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and national team playmaker Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“No doubt, I think he will represent England and I think he will progress to the top of the game,” his former manager, the player’s boss at the club, stated last year.
Within three months after, he signed for the Cherries for a understood fee of £25m.
Securing his big move
Scott endured a difficult first season with the club, having to wait until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“I had quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.
“It was almost another obstacle and the year was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, forming a strong understanding in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun the current campaign equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in every game to help them to fifth in the standings.
“Representing the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” the player said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, keep enjoying football, improving every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
