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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 assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”

This prediction turned out to be something of an understatement.

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

His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a true throwback, a story rarely seen in the modern game.

Next stop? The World Cup?

“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a professional football player, let alone featuring in the Premier League and playing for England too,” the player said in a recent interview.

“It’s been a crazy half-dozen years of my life, and circumstances have transformed drastically for me and my loved ones.”

But how did Scott, known affectionately as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, find himself at this level?

Developing in non-league

His path in football has not been a conventional one.

He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s academy setup from the age of eight, skipping school each Friday to travel by air from his home on Guernsey to the mainland so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.

Before he turned 13, however, they decided to let him go. The Cherries gave him an opportunity and he remained with them for a time, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.

Instead, he opted to remain on the island and play for his local team.

“I wasn’t playing very well and traveling weekly was starting to feel a bit too much,” he recalled.

“All I desired to chill at my home with my friends at the weekend because I missed nearly several years of doing that. To have that slice of childhood back was something I definitely required.

“To gain a bit of confidence by returning and playing local football was massive for me. That proved to be perhaps one of the most important things 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 second-half replacement in their league fixture at Phoenix Sports.

“I’ve been having sleepless nights because I was figuring out how I could include him in the side because he’s that good,” manager the coach stated back then.

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

Returning to the professional game

Championship side Bristol City – chaired by islander their owner – had been tracking his early progress after an promising start in men’s football and gave him a try-out in late 2019.

“It was hectic,” recalled Scott. “The first day I trained with the youth team, the second day I was with the first team, which was a total surprise.

“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in the capital, returned home and by Friday, I took the field for the youth team and netted a hat-trick. It was almost a certainty for me to sign a deal.”

In just a year and a half, still well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.

Scott made eighty-three league appearances for the club while still a teenager, often being used as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a number 10 – such was his versatility and versatility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.

Thanks to his ability to drive the ball forward, and with his socks down to his ankles, he earned the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a nod to Manchester City and England playmaker Grealish.

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

“No doubt, I believe he’ll play for England and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the sport,” his former manager, Scott’s manager at Ashton Gate, stated previously.

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

Securing his major transfer

Scott experienced a challenging first season with the Cherries, waiting until October to earn his top-flight debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then finding himself inconsistent of the team.

His following season was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for nearly several months.

“There was a decent run at the close of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said Scott.

“It was yet another setback and the year was turning out to be a pretty bad year for the first five months.”

But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – and succeeded in 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, forming a formidable partnership in the middle with Elliot Anderson, who himself has gone on to impress for the senior side under Thomas Tuchel.

And he has started the current campaign just as impressively for his club, playing in all matches to guide them to the top five in the standings.

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

“It’s down to me, I’ve got to continue developing as a footballer, maintain my love for the game, improving every day, and with luck I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”