Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
That statement proved to be something of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his first call-up to the full England team.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a story rarely told in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone playing in the top division and playing for the national team too,” the player said previously.
“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for me and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s path in football has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Before he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an option and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Instead, he opted to stay on the island and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.
“I just wanted to chill at my home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood back was something I really required.
“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and taking part in island football was massive for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league match at Phoenix Sports.
“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the way he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the professional game
Championship side Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an impressive start in adult football and arranged a trial in December 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“On the Wednesday I featured for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
Within 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against the Hatters.
Scott went on to make 83 league outings for the Robins while in his teens, frequently being used as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he will represent his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, stated previously.
Within three months after, he signed for the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost several months.
“I had a decent run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“It was almost another setback and it was shaping up as 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 get himself fit for the tournament.
He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started the current campaign just as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to guide them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for football, getting better every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”
