When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”
This statement turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first summons to the senior Three Lions team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern game.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, let alone playing in the Premier League and representing England as well,” Scott stated previously.
“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
So how did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?
Learning in the lower tiers
His football journey has not been 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 the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.
Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.
Rather, he opted to remain on Guernsey 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 explained.
“All I desired to chill at home with my friends at the weekend because I had missed almost four and a half years of that experience. To have that little bit of childhood again was a thing I really needed.
“Building some confidence by coming back and taking part in local football was massive for me. It was perhaps one of the most important things that got me to this point.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League match at the opposition.
“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance commented back then.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Returning to the pro ranks
Championship side the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his development after an promising beginning in men’s football and arranged a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” said the player. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.
“Midweek 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 hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”
In just 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against Luton.
He made 83 league appearances for the club while in his teens, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – such was his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.
Thanks to his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I think he’ll play for England and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated last year.
Less than three months after, he signed for the Cherries for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.
Getting his big move
The midfielder experienced a difficult first season with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.
His following season was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“There was a decent run at the end of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.
“It was almost another setback and it was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first half.”
But he was then called up by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness in time.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six games as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has started this season just as strongly for his club, playing in every game to guide them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” the player said earlier this season.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving day on day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and earn an opportunity.”
