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When the young midfielder made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this boy.”

This statement proved to be a bit of an understatement.

Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has earned his maiden call-up to the full Three Lions squad.

His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible international star is a proper blast from the past, a story seldom seen in the modern game.

What’s next? The World Cup?

“Back then, there was zero possibility of becoming a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the top division and representing England as well,” Scott said previously.

“It’s been a crazy five or six years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for me and my family.”

So how did Scott, referred to affectionately as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, end up at this level?

Learning in the lower tiers

His path in football has been far from a conventional one.

He was part of over four years in Southampton’s academy setup starting at eight, leaving school early each Friday to fly from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.

Before he turned 13, however, they released him. The Cherries gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart wasn’t fully committed.

Instead, he opted to remain on the island and play for his local team.

“My form had dipped and traveling every week was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.

“I just wanted to chill at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that slice of childhood back was something I really needed.

“Building a bit of confidence by returning and playing local football was huge for me. That proved to be perhaps the most crucial things that led me where I am today.”

When he was just 16, the teenager 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’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the side because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.

“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”

Returning to the pro ranks

Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and gave him a trial in December 2019.

“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled Scott. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the next day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.

“Midweek I featured for Guernsey FC in London, travelled back and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to sign a contract.”

In just a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his first-team debut versus Luton.

He made 83 league outings for the club while in his teens, frequently being used as a wing-back – and sometimes further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Even at that young age 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 national team playmaker Jack Grealish.

At the end of the 2022-23 season he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was named Bristol City’s player and young player of the Year.

“Without question, I believe he’ll play for his country and I’m sure he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at the club, remarked last year.

Less than three months later, he joined Bournemouth for a reported fee of 25 million pounds.

Getting his big move

The midfielder endured a challenging debut campaign with the Cherries, waiting until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being in and out of the starting XI.

His second campaign was just as disrupted, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly several months.

“I had a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” explained he.

“That felt like almost 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 England for the Under-21 European Championships – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.

He started five of the Young Lions’ six matches as they claimed victory in the tournament in the host nation, forming a formidable understanding in midfield with Elliot Anderson, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.

And he has begun this season just as strongly for Bournemouth, playing in all matches to guide them to the top five in the table.

“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott said recently.

“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying football, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”