England’s Championship has been home to many future talents. Most of them have been of English nationality, although there have been many foreign products as well that have stamped their authority. Many of them have gone on to make big money transfers to Premier League clubs or even overseas clubs.
With a season that spans through ten gruesome months and a total of forty-six games, the English Football League Championship is undoubtedly one of the most physically and mentally demanding competitions in all of football. Whilst a select number of clubs aim to fight it out for promotion into the Premier League, others simply try to hold their own in the second tier. The latter has been the case for Bristol City, who have now been in the league for six consecutive seasons
Youngsters such as Levi Colwill, Djed Spence and Malcolm Ebiowei have excelled in the Championship before making the step up to clubs in the top tier. Now, there is a new name being cast into the limelight.
In April 2021, 16-year-old Alex Scott was handed his debut for Bristol City by Nigel Pearson. Within months, the teenager became a first-team regular for the Robins and in June 2022, won the U19 Euros with England.
As the motto goes, if you’re good enough, you’re old enough and Scott certainly is good. Now one of the first names on Pearson’s teamsheet, Scott is rapidly developing and has garnered interest from heavyweights such as Manchester City.
Playing career so far
Hailing from Guernsey, while this certainly isn’t a new comparison by any stretch of the imagination, Alex Scott is regularly likened to Manchester City winger Jack Grealish when describing his style of play.
In fact, one could argue that at 18, Scott is a much better all-around footballer than Grealish was at that age, but development isn’t linear so it’s difficult to tell whether the teenager will reach the heights of a Grealish or not.
At 16 and now out of school, Scott signed for Guernsey FC, becoming the youngest ever player to represent the side on August 31st 2019 against Phoenix Sports.
After making his debut off the bench in April 2021, Scott has quickly become a mainstay at Ashton Gate under Nigel Pearson. This season he has featured 32 times so far, producing 4 assists. He caught the eye of Bristol scouts as a 16-year-old playing for Guernsey, following unsuccessful spells as a kid with Southampton and Bournemouth. From there it has been a steady development through the ranks at Ashton Gate and through the England age groups.
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Alex Scott stats
Overall this season, Scott is averaging 5.25 ball recoveries per 90 with 46.7% of them coming in the opposition’s half of the pitch. He also challenges in 5.95 defensive duels per 90 winning a high rate of 76.5%, showing his tenacity and astuteness in the defensive phases despite being merely 18.
The teenager is currently averaging 7 forward passes per 90 this season, 3.15 passes to the final third, 0.35 shots assists per 90 and an expected assists ratio of 0.08 per 90.
Alex Scott scout report
Scott excels in several different positions. In the 2021/22 season, Pearson primarily used the 19-year-old as a right wing-back. This can be quite common with young players. Often, they are shoehorned into wider positions instead of being cast into the deep end in the core of the team. This season, Scott has had the manager’s full trust in the middle of the park, being employed as Bristol’s pivot midfielder, one of the most vital positions in the team, at just 19.
Bristol press high up the pitch as Pearson looks to adopt somewhat of a man-oriented pressing scheme, particularly against a side using one pivot midfielder. Quite often, Scott is instructed to keep tight to the single pivot to block or intrude on the passing lane into the player.
He is excellent at getting involved in combination play, especially in the final third which allows his side to break through the opponent’s defensive block and potentially put a cross into the penalty area. One of the reasons for this is because Scott has a tendency to play a lot of one-touch passes upon reception of the ball, often laying it off to supporting players which quickens up the play.
What makes him special
One of the key reasons behind his exponential rise at Bristol, alongside his obvious quality, is his versatility. During his near-18-month spell in the first team, Scott has been used in a variety of positions, making him a very reliable squad player.
Not only this, but Scott also knows when he needs to stop man-marking a player and use his head to look at other forms of defending. One of his greatest strengths is his ability to understand exactly what is required from him in each different role within the team’s structure. If Scott plays as a ‘10’, he drifts into pockets of space all over the pitch. If used in a deeper role, he sits behind the play, looking to play line-breaking passes.
This season he has already played several roles for Pearson’s men. Although still at an age where his best position is yet to be determined, the early signs indicate that he’s effective in every third of the pitch. As far as attributes go, Alex’s on-the-ball ability is exceptional, with his technique standing out as he is very confident in his own skill set.
Alex Scott potential & transfer news
Scott is still very rough around the edges, but even at 18, in such a difficult league like the EFL Championship, he sticks out like a sore thumb on the pitch for his quality. When watching him play, you see a player without fear, but with real maturity in his game, hence why Pearson has made the teenager a first-team regular.
With still much to learn and improve on, the young man nicknamed the Guernsey Grealish, has taken massive strides towards fulfilling his limitless potential in the last 12-18 months and as stated earlier could very well soon be on the move into a Premier League squad in the near future.
Nevertheless, at 18, there may still be a slight bit of room for him to grow even further in terms of his height and peak muscle mass, although the key words there are ‘may’ and ‘slight’.