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Back when the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut versus Phoenix Sports before a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager at the time predicted, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”

That prediction turned out to be something of an underestimation.

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

His rise from non-league prodigy to possible international star is a true blast from the past, a journey rarely seen in the modern game.

What’s next? The World Cup?

“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a professional football player, let alone featuring in the top division and playing for the national team too,” the player said in a recent interview.

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

So how did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself here?

Developing in the lower tiers

His path in football has not been a typical one.

He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to fly from his home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.

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

Rather, he opted to remain on Guernsey and play for his local team.

“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was becoming overwhelming,” he explained.

“All I desired to relax 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 required.

“Building some confidence by coming back and taking part in island football was huge for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial things that got me to this point.”

When he was just 16, Scott became the youngest player in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half replacement in their league match at the opposition.

“I had sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach stated at the time.

“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 Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his development after an impressive start in adult football and gave him a trial in December 2019.

“The whole experience was chaos,” said the player. “The first day I joined the youth team, the second day I was with the senior squad, which was a total surprise.

“On the Wednesday I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for Bristol City Under-18s and netted a three goals. It was almost a done deal for me to sign a deal.”

In just 18 months, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.

Scott made 83 league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being deployed as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – demonstrating his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and not in his natural role he was their best player.

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 nod to City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.

At the end of the 2022-23 campaign he claimed the second tier’s best young player honour, was selected in the league’s best XI and was voted the club’s top player and top youngster.

“No doubt, I think he will represent his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” Nigel Pearson, Scott’s manager at the club, remarked last year.

Within three months later, he joined the Cherries for a understood fee of 25 million pounds.

Getting his big move

Scott endured 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 finding himself inconsistent of the team.

His second campaign was equally disrupted, this time by a surgery which sidelined him for almost four months.

“I had a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” explained Scott.

“It was yet another obstacle and it was shaping up as a pretty bad year for the first half.”

But he was then selected by the national team for the Under-21 European Championships – and managed to regain fitness in time.

He started five of the England U21s’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in the host nation, forming a formidable understanding in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has excelled for the senior side under the national coach.

And he has begun the current campaign just as strongly for his club, featuring in all matches to help them to fifth in the table.

“Representing the England senior team would be among the most special occasions of my life,” the player stated recently.

“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying football, improving day on day, and with luck I impress the national coach and earn an opportunity.”