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Back when the young midfielder made his local team debut against Phoenix Sports in front of a mere 55 fans in 2019, his manager back then assured, “there’s more to come from this youngster.”

That statement proved to be a bit of an understatement.

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

His ascent from non-league prodigy to potential England player is a proper throwback, a story seldom told in the modern game.

What’s next? A major tournament?

“Back then, there was zero possibility of making it as a pro footballer, let alone featuring in the top division and playing for England too,” the player said previously.

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

So how did Scott, referred to fondly as the ‘Grealish from Guernsey’, find himself at this level?

Developing in non-league

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

He was part of four and a half years in Southampton’s youth system starting at eight, leaving school early every Friday to fly from his island home on the Channel Island to the mainland so he could attend training and play for the club’s academy sides.

Before he turned 13, though, they decided to let him go. The Cherries were willing to offer Scott an option and he was on the Cherries’ books for a while, but, as he later admitted, his heart was not in it.

Rather, he opted to remain on the island and turn out for his local team.

“My form had dipped and traveling every week was starting to feel overwhelming,” he recalled.

“All I desired to chill at my home with my mates at weekends because I had missed almost four and a half years of doing that. Getting that little bit of childhood back was something I really required.

“To gain a bit of self-belief by coming back and taking part in local football was huge for me. That proved to be probably the most crucial factors that led me where I am today.”

At the age of 16, Scott made history as the most youthful appearance-maker in the club’s records when he came on as a second-half substitute in their Isthmian League fixture at the opposition.

“I’ve been having trouble sleeping because I was trying to work out how I could get him in the team because his talent is obvious,” manager the coach stated back then.

“Everyone’s now seen that – his retention of the ball is outstanding, the way he runs with the ball, he’s a class act.”

Returning to the pro ranks

Second-tier club the Robins – owned by islander Steve Lansdown – had been tracking his early progress after an impressive start in adult football and gave him a trial in December 2019.

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

“On the Wednesday I featured for his local side in the capital, travelled back 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 contract.”

In just 18 months, still well before his 18th birthday, he was earning his first-team debut against Luton.

He made eighty-three league outings for the club while still a teenager, frequently being used as a wide defender – and occasionally further forward as a attacking midfielder – such was his versatility and versatility. Despite his youth and playing out of position he was their best player.

Thanks to his ability to carry the ball forward, and with his socks rolled down to his ankles, he picked up the nickname ‘the Guernsey Grealish’, a reference to Manchester City and England attacking midfielder Jack Grealish.

By the conclusion of the 2022-23 campaign he won the EFL Championship’s young player of the season award, was chosen in the division’s team of the year and was named the club’s top player and top youngster.

“Without question, I believe he’ll play for England and I think he will progress to the top of the game,” his former manager, the player’s boss at Ashton Gate, remarked last year.

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

Securing his big move

Scott endured a difficult debut campaign with the club, waiting until October to make his top-flight debut after a knee injury in the summer, and then being inconsistent of the starting XI.

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

“There was quite a good run at the end of last season, which was good to have, then I fractured my jaw,” said he.

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

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 Young Lions’ six matches as they went on to win the competition in Slovakia, developing a strong partnership 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 impressively for Bournemouth, featuring in all matches to guide them to fifth in the table.

“To play for the England senior team would be one of the proudest occasions of my life,” Scott stated earlier this season.

“It’s down to me, I’ve got to keep progressing as a player, keep enjoying the game, getting better day on day, and with luck I impress the England manager and earn an opportunity.”