Back when the young midfielder made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”
This prediction turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.
Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the playmaker has earned his maiden summons to the senior Three Lions team.
His ascent from eighth-tier talent to potential England player is a true blast from the past, a story rarely seen in the modern era.
Next stop? A major tournament?
“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the Premier League and representing the national team too,” the player said in a recent interview.
“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and things have changed completely for myself and my loved ones.”
So in what way did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?
Developing in the lower tiers
Scott’s path in football has not been a conventional one.
He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, skipping school each 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.
Before he turned 13, though, they released him. The Cherries gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his mind wasn’t fully committed.
Rather, he chose to stay on Guernsey and turn out for his hometown club.
“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.
“All I desired to chill at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of doing that. Getting that little bit of youth back was a thing I definitely required.
“Building a bit of confidence by returning and taking part in island football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that led me to this point.”
At the age of 16, the teenager made history as the youngest player in the club’s records when he was introduced as a second-half substitute in their league fixture at the opposition.
“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented at the time.
“Everyone’s now seen that – his possession of the ball is exceptional, the way he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”
Returning to the professional game
Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring Scott’s development after an impressive start in men’s football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.
“The whole experience was hectic,” recalled the player. “Day one I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.
“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in London, returned home and by Friday, I played for the youth team and netted a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a deal.”
Within a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against the Hatters.
Scott went on to make 83 league appearances for the Robins while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a number 10 – such was his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and not in his natural role he was their best player.
With his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.
By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player award, was chosen in the division’s best XI and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.
“Without question, I believe he will represent his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, the player’s manager at the club, remarked previously.
Less than three months later, he signed for the Cherries for a reported fee of £25m.
Getting his major transfer
Scott experienced a difficult first season with the Cherries, waiting until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.
His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly four months.
“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.
“That felt like 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 succeeded in 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 the host nation, developing a strong understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the senior side with the national coach.
And he has begun this season just as strongly for his club, featuring in all matches to help them to the top five in the table.
“To play for the national team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” Scott stated earlier this season.
“The responsibility is mine, I must keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying football, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”
