🔗 Share this article

Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”

This statement proved to be a bit of an underestimation.

Today 22 years old and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions squad.

His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a true throwback, a story rarely seen in the modern game.

Next stop? A major tournament?

“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, never mind playing in the top division and representing England too,” the player said previously.

“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed drastically for myself and my loved ones.”

But how did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?

Learning in non-league

Scott’s path in football has not been a typical one.

He was part of four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.

Prior to he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.

Rather, he chose to remain on Guernsey and play for his local team.

“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was becoming overwhelming,” he recalled.

“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at weekends because I had missed almost several years of doing that. To have that slice of childhood again was something I really required.

“Building some self-belief by coming back 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 became the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half replacement in their league match at Phoenix Sports.

“I had sleepless nights because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated back then.

“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s pure quality.”

Making a comeback to the professional game

Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his early progress after an promising start in men’s football and arranged a trial in December 2019.

“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the second day I trained with the senior squad, which was a complete surprise.

“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. It was almost a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”

Within a year and a half, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.

Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, frequently being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was the standout performer.

With his ability to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.

By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.

“Without question, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he will progress to the top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked previously.

Less than three months later, he signed for Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of £25m.

Getting his big move

The midfielder experienced a difficult first season with the club, waiting until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the team.

His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost four months.

“There was quite a good run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained Scott.

“That felt like yet another setback and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first five months.”

But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness in time.

He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, forming a strong partnership in the middle with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the first team under the national coach.

And he has started this season just as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to guide them to fifth in the standings.

“To play for the national team would be among the most special occasions of my career,” Scott stated earlier this season.

“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to continue developing as a player, maintain my love for the game, getting better day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”