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Back when the young midfielder made his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then predicted, “there’s more to come from this boy.”

This statement proved to be a bit of an underestimation.

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

His rise from non-league prodigy to potential international star is a proper throwback, a journey rarely told in the modern game.

Next stop? The World Cup?

“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, never mind playing in the Premier League and playing for the national team too,” the player stated previously.

“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed completely for me and my loved ones.”

So how did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?

Learning in the lower tiers

Scott’s football journey has been far from a conventional one.

He spent over four years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the south coast so he could train and feature for the club’s academy sides.

Prior to his 13th birthday, though, they released him. Bournemouth were willing to offer him an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.

Instead, he opted to stay on Guernsey and play for his hometown club.

“My form had dipped and flying over weekly was becoming a bit too much,” he explained.

“I just wanted to chill at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost four and a half years of that experience. To have that slice of youth back was a thing I really needed.

“To gain some confidence by returning and playing local football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important factors that got me where I am today.”

When he was just 16, the teenager became the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a 57th-minute substitute in their league match at Phoenix Sports.

“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could include him in the side because his talent is obvious,” manager Tony Vance commented at the time.

“People have witnessed that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the manner he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”

Returning to the professional game

Second-tier club Bristol City – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his development after an promising beginning in men’s football and gave him a trial in late 2019.

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

“Midweek I featured for his local side in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I played for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to sign a deal.”

Within 18 months, even some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his senior debut versus the Hatters.

Scott went on to make eighty-three league outings for the Robins while in his teens, often being used as a wide defender – and occasionally 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 their best player.

Thanks to his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and national team attacking midfielder Grealish.

By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the EFL Championship’s best young player honour, was selected in the division’s best XI and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.

“Without question, I think he’ll play for England and I’m sure he will progress to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at the club, remarked last year.

Less than 90 days later, he joined the Cherries for a understood transfer fee of £25m.

Securing his major transfer

Scott endured a difficult first season with the club, waiting until the autumn to earn his top-flight debut after a knee problem in pre-season, and then finding himself in and out of the team.

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

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

“That felt like yet another setback and the year was turning out to be quite a terrible start for the first five months.”

But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and managed to get himself fit in time.

He started five of the England U21s’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in the host nation, developing a formidable understanding in the middle with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the first team with the national coach.

And he has begun this season equally as strongly for his club, featuring in all matches to guide them to the top five in the table.

“Representing the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my career,” the player stated earlier this season.

“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying the game, improving every day, and hopefully I catch the eye of the England manager and get my chance.”