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When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 spectators in 2019, his coach at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”

This prediction turned out to be something of an understatement.

Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the playmaker has just received his first call-up to the senior Three Lions team.

His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a true throwback, a story seldom told in the modern game.

Next stop? A major tournament?

“Back then, there was no chance of becoming a professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and playing for the national team too,” Scott stated in a recent interview.

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

So in what way did Scott, known 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 spent four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and feature for the club’s academy sides.

Prior to he turned 13, though, they released him. The Cherries gave him an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind was not in it.

Rather, he opted to remain on the island and turn out for his hometown club.

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

“I just wanted to relax at my home with my mates at weekends because I had missed almost several years of that experience. Getting that slice of childhood back was a thing I really needed.

“Building some confidence by coming back and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was perhaps the most crucial factors that got me to this point.”

When he was just 16, the teenager made history as the most youthful appearance-maker 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 trying to work out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” Guernsey boss Tony Vance stated back then.

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

Returning to the pro ranks

Second-tier club the Robins – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his early progress after an promising beginning in adult football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.

“It was hectic,” said Scott. “The first day I joined the under-18s, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a complete shock.

“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and by Friday, I played for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a hat-trick. From that point a certainty for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”

Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus the Hatters.

He made eighty-three league outings for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack 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 skill to drive the ball up the pitch, and with his socks down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to City and England playmaker Jack Grealish.

At the end of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s young player of the season honour, 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 top of the game,” Nigel Pearson, the player’s manager at the club, remarked previously.

Within 90 days later, he signed for the Cherries for a reported transfer fee of 25 million pounds.

Getting his big move

The midfielder experienced a challenging first season with the Cherries, having to wait until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee problem in the summer, and then being in and out of the team.

His second campaign was just as affected, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost several months.

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

“That felt like almost another obstacle and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first half.”

But he was then called up by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to get himself fit in time.

He went on to start five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, forming a strong understanding in midfield with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the senior side with Thomas Tuchel.

And he has begun this season equally as strongly for his club, featuring in every game to guide them to fifth in the standings.

“Representing the national team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” Scott said recently.

“It’s down to me, I must continue developing as a footballer, keep enjoying the game, getting better day on day, and with luck I catch the eye of the England manager and earn an opportunity.”