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Back when the young midfielder made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports before just 55 fans in 2019, his coach at the time assured, “we haven’t seen the best from this youngster.”

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

Now aged 22 and an established top-flight player with the Cherries, the midfielder has earned his first call-up to the senior England squad.

His rise from eighth-tier talent to possible England player is a proper blast from the past, a journey rarely told in the modern game.

What’s next? A major tournament?

“In my mind, there was no chance of making it as a pro footballer, never mind playing in the top division and representing England as well,” the player said in a recent interview.

“It has been a incredible half-dozen years of my life, and things have changed completely for myself and my family.”

So in what way did Scott, known fondly as the ‘Guernsey Grealish’, end up here?

Developing in the lower tiers

Scott’s path in football has not been a typical 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 mainland so he could train and feature for the Saints’ youth teams.

Before he turned 13, however, they released him. The Cherries gave Scott an opportunity and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.

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

“I wasn’t playing very well and flying over every week was becoming a bit too much,” he recalled.

“All I desired to chill at my home with my mates at the weekend because I missed almost several years of doing that. Getting that slice of youth back was something I definitely needed.

“Building some self-belief by returning and taking part in island football was huge for me. It was probably one of the most important things that got me where I am today.”

When he was just 16, Scott 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 the opposition.

“I had trouble sleeping because I was figuring out how I could get him in the team because he’s that good,” manager the coach commented back then.

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

Making a comeback to the professional game

Second-tier club Bristol City – chaired by Guernsey resident Steve Lansdown – had been monitoring his early progress after an impressive beginning in adult football and arranged a try-out in December 2019.

“The whole experience was chaos,” recalled the player. “Day one I trained with the under-18s, the second day I was with the first team, which was a complete shock.

“Midweek I played for Guernsey FC in London, returned home and on the Friday, I took the field for the youth team and scored a hat-trick. From that point a done deal for me to put pen to paper on a deal.”

Within 18 months, even well before his 18th birthday, he was making his senior debut against Luton.

Scott went on to make eighty-three league appearances for the Robins while in his teens, often being deployed as a wing-back – and occasionally in attack as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and flexibility. Even at that young age and playing out of position he was their best player.

Thanks to his skill to carry the ball up the pitch, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘Guernsey’s Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and national team playmaker Jack Grealish.

By the conclusion of the 2022-23 season he claimed the second tier’s best young player award, was chosen in the league’s best XI and was voted the club’s player and young player of the Year.

“Without question, I think he will represent England and I think he’ll go on to the pinnacle of the game,” his former manager, Scott’s boss at Ashton Gate, stated previously.

Within three months after, he signed for Bournemouth for a reported transfer fee of £25m.

Securing his major transfer

Scott endured a difficult debut campaign with the Cherries, having to wait until October to make his Premier League debut after a knee injury in pre-season, and then being in and out of the starting XI.

His second campaign was equally affected, this time by a knee operation which ruled him out for almost four months.

“I had quite a good run at the end of the previous campaign, which was nice to have, then I broke my jaw,” said Scott.

“It was almost another setback and it was shaping up as quite a terrible start for the first five months.”

But he was then selected by the national team for the U21 Euros – 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 tournament in the host nation, developing a formidable partnership in midfield with his teammate, who himself has excelled for the first team with Thomas Tuchel.

And he has begun the current campaign just as strongly 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,” Scott said earlier this season.

“The responsibility is mine, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying football, getting better every day, and with luck I impress the national coach and get my chance.”