Back when the young midfielder made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”
That prediction proved to be something of an underestimation.
Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his first call-up to the full Three Lions squad.
His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a story seldom told in the modern era.
What’s next? A major tournament?
“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing the national team as well,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have changed drastically for me and my family.”
So in what way did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?
Developing in non-league
Scott’s football journey has not been a conventional one.
He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to he turned 13, though, they released him. The Cherries gave Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind was not in it.
Rather, he opted to stay on the island and turn out for his local team.
“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed almost several years of that experience. Getting that little bit of youth again was something I really needed.
“Building a bit of confidence by coming back and taking part in island football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things that led me to this point.”
When he was just 16, Scott became the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history 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 the coach commented at the time.
“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club the Robins – owned by islander their owner – had been monitoring his development after an promising beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.
“It was chaos,” recalled the player. “Day one I joined the youth team, the next day I was with the first team, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.
He made eighty-three league outings for the club while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s young player of the season honour, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was named the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he will represent England and I think he will progress to the top of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.
Within 90 days after, he signed for the Cherries for a reported fee of £25m.
Getting his big move
The midfielder experienced a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was just as affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“There was quite a good run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.
“That felt like yet another obstacle and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible year for the first half.”
But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, developing a strong partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the first team with the national coach.
And he has begun this season equally as strongly for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to guide them to the top five in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” the player stated recently.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
