Back when the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.
Now aged 22 and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his maiden call-up to the senior Three Lions team.
His rise from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom seen in the modern game.
Next stop? The World Cup?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the Premier League and playing for England too,” Scott said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Learning in the lower tiers
Scott’s football journey has been far from a conventional one.
He was part of over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.
Prior to his 13th birthday, however, they released him. The Cherries were willing to offer him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.
Instead, he chose to stay on the island and play for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.
“I just wanted to chill at home with my friends at weekends because I missed almost several years of that experience. To have that little bit of youth back was something I really required.
“To gain some self-belief by returning and playing local football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial things that got me where I am today.”
When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute replacement in their Isthmian 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 he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”
Making a comeback to the pro ranks
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an impressive start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.
“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled Scott. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the second day I trained with the first team, which was a total shock.
“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”
In just a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus Luton.
Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being used as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.
With his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.
At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he won the second tier’s best young player award, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.
“Without question, I believe he will represent England and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, stated last year.
Less than 90 days after, he joined the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.
Securing his big move
The midfielder endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, having to wait until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then being inconsistent of the team.
His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for nearly four months.
“There was a decent run at the close of last season, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said he.
“It was yet another obstacle and it was shaping up as 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 for the tournament.
He went on to start five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.
And he has begun this season just as strongly for his club, playing in all matches to guide them to fifth in the standings.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special moments of my life,” the player said recently.
“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for the game, improving day on day, and with luck I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”
