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Back when the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”

This statement turned out to be something of an understatement.

Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his maiden call-up to the full England squad.

His ascent from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a journey seldom told in the modern game.

Next stop? The World Cup?

“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, never mind featuring in the Premier League and playing for England too,” the player stated previously.

“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed completely for myself and my loved ones.”

But how did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up here?

Learning in the lower tiers

His path in football has not been a conventional one.

He spent over four years in the Saints’ academy setup starting at eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.

Prior to he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.

Rather, he chose to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.

“My form had dipped and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.

“All I desired to chill at my home with my friends at the weekend because I missed almost several years of that experience. To have that little bit of childhood again was a thing I definitely needed.

“To gain a bit of self-belief by coming back and taking part in island football was huge for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial factors that led me to this point.”

At the age of 16, Scott became the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their league match at the opposition.

“I had trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” manager Tony Vance commented back then.

“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s a class act.”

Returning to the professional game

Championship side Bristol City – chaired by islander their owner – had been monitoring his development after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.

“It was hectic,” recalled the player. “Day one I joined the under-18s, the second day I was with the first team, which was a complete shock.

“On the Wednesday I played for his local side in the capital, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”

In just 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against the Hatters.

Scott went on to make eighty-three league outings for the club while in his teens, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – 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 drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.

At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s young player of the season award, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was voted Bristol City’s top player and top youngster.

“Without question, I think he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at the club, remarked previously.

Within three months after, he joined Bournemouth for a understood transfer fee of 25 million pounds.

Getting his big move

The midfielder experienced a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until the autumn to make his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being in and out of the team.

His following season was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which sidelined him for nearly four months.

“I had quite a good run at the end of last season, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.

“That felt like yet another obstacle and it was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first half.”

But he was then selected by England for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.

He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, developing a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the senior side under the national coach.

And he has started this season equally as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in every game to help them to the top five in the standings.

“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest moments of my career,” Scott said earlier this season.

“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a player, keep enjoying the game, getting better every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”