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When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 spectators in 2019, his coach back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”

This prediction turned out to be something of an understatement.

Now 22 years old and a Premier League regular with the Cherries, the midfielder has just received his first call-up to the senior Three Lions team.

His rise from eighth-tier talent to potential international star is a proper throwback, a story rarely seen in the modern era.

What’s next? The World Cup?

“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a professional football player, never mind playing in the Premier League and playing for the national team too,” the player said in a recent interview.

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

So in what way did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?

Learning in non-league

His football journey has not been a conventional one.

He spent four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and play for the club’s academy sides.

Prior to he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.

Instead, he chose to remain on Guernsey and turn out for his local team.

“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.

“All I desired to chill at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood again was a thing I really needed.

“Building some confidence by returning and taking part in local football was huge for me. It was probably one of the most important things that got me to this point.”

When he was just 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in Guernsey’s history when he was introduced as a 57th-minute substitute in their league match at the opposition.

“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach stated at the time.

“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”

Making a comeback to the pro ranks

Championship side Bristol City – owned by islander their owner – had been tracking Scott’s early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and gave him a trial in late 2019.

“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete shock.

“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a deal.”

In just a year and a half, even well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut against the Hatters.

Scott made eighty-three league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wide defender – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.

With his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he earned the moniker ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.

At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was selected in the league’s team of the year and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.

“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I think he will progress to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated previously.

Less than 90 days later, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.

Getting his major transfer

Scott endured a difficult first season with the club, having to wait until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the starting XI.

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

“I had quite a good run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.

“It was almost another setback and the year was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first five months.”

But he was then selected by England for the U21 Euros – and managed to regain fitness in time.

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

And he has started the current campaign just as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to help them to the top five in the table.

“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” the player stated recently.

“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, improving every day, and hopefully I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”