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When the young midfielder stepped onto the pitch for his Guernsey debut against Phoenix Sports in front of just 55 fans in 2019, his coach back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”

That statement turned out to be a bit of an underestimation.

Now 22 years old and an established top-flight player with Bournemouth, the midfielder has just received his maiden call-up to the senior England team.

His rise from non-league prodigy to possible England player is a true throwback, a story rarely seen in the modern game.

What’s next? A major tournament?

“In my mind, there was no chance of becoming a pro footballer, let alone playing in the top division and playing for England as well,” Scott said previously.

“It has been a incredible five or six years of my life, and things have transformed completely for me and my family.”

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

Developing in the lower tiers

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

He spent four and a half years in the Saints’ youth system from the age of eight, leaving school early every Friday to travel by air from his island home on the Channel Island to the south coast so he could attend training and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.

Before he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. Bournemouth gave Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a time, but, as he later admitted, his mind wasn’t fully committed.

Instead, he opted to stay on the island and turn out for his hometown club.

“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over weekly was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.

“All I desired to relax at my home with my mates at the weekend because I had missed nearly several years of that experience. To have that little bit of childhood back was a thing I really needed.

“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and playing island football was massive for me. That proved to be probably one of the most important factors that led me where I am today.”

At the age of 16, Scott made history as the youngest player in Guernsey’s history when he came on as a second-half replacement in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.

“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could include him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach commented back then.

“People have witnessed that – his possession of the ball is outstanding, the manner he carries the ball, he’s pure quality.”

Making a comeback to the pro ranks

Championship side the Robins – chaired by islander their owner – had been tracking his development after an promising beginning in adult football and arranged a trial in late 2019.

“The whole experience was hectic,” said the player. “The first day I trained with the under-18s, the next day I trained with the first team, which was a complete surprise.

“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in the capital, travelled back and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a contract.”

Within a year and a half, still some way short of his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against the Hatters.

Scott went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the club while in his teens, frequently being used as a wing-back – and sometimes in attack as a number 10 – such was his adaptability and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was the standout performer.

Thanks to his skill to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the moniker ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a nod to City and national team playmaker Grealish.

By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he won the second tier’s best young player award, was selected in the division’s team of the year and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.

“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for his country and I think he will progress to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, the player’s boss at the club, stated last year.

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

Securing his major transfer

Scott endured a difficult first season with the club, having to wait until the autumn to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.

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

“I had quite a good run at the close of last season, which was good to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.

“That felt like yet another setback and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first half.”

But he was then called up by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in regain fitness in time.

He started five of the Young Lions’ six games as they claimed victory in the competition in Slovakia, developing a formidable understanding in midfield with his teammate, who in turn has gone on to impress for the senior side under the national coach.

And he has started this season just as strongly for his club, featuring in all matches to help them to the top five in the standings.

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

“The responsibility is mine, I must continue developing as a player, maintain my love for football, improving every day, and with luck I catch the eye of the national coach and get my chance.”