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When the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”

That statement proved to be something of an understatement.

Today aged 22 and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the playmaker has just received his first summons to the full Three Lions squad.

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

What’s next? The World Cup?

“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, never mind playing in the Premier League and playing for the national team as well,” Scott said previously.

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

But how did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?

Developing in the lower tiers

His football journey has not been a typical one.

He was part of over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, skipping school every Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could train and play for the Saints’ youth teams.

Prior to he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave Scott an opportunity and he remained with them for a while, but, by the player’s own admission, his heart was not in it.

Rather, he opted to stay on the island and turn out for his local team.

“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.

“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at weekends because I missed almost four and a half years of doing that. To have that little bit of childhood again was a thing I really required.

“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and playing local football was massive for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important things that led me to this point.”

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 fixture at the opposition.

“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because he’s that good,” Guernsey boss the coach commented back then.

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

Returning to the professional game

Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident their owner – had been monitoring his development after an impressive beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in December 2019.

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

“Midweek I played for his local side in London, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and scored a three goals. From that point a certainty for me to sign a contract.”

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

He made eighty-three league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his adaptability and flexibility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.

Thanks to his ability to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Grealish.

At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the league’s team of the year and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.

“Without question, I believe he’ll play for England and I’m sure he’ll go on to the top of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated previously.

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

Getting his big move

The midfielder endured a difficult first season with the club, waiting until October to earn his Premier League debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.

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

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

“That felt like almost another setback and the year was shaping up as 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 games as they went on to win the tournament in Slovakia, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has excelled for the first team under Thomas Tuchel.

And he has begun this season just as impressively for Bournemouth, playing in every game to help them to the top five in the table.

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

“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, maintain my love for football, getting better day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”