Alex Scott’s fine breakthrough season continues with the Bristol City midfielder named in Ian Foster’s England Under-19 squad for the European Championships, which kick off in Slovakia this weekend.
Scott is one of only three non top-flight players, along with Peterborough United defender Ronnie Edwards and Sheffield United forward Daniel Jebbison, in the 21-man group having earned seven caps so far under Foster.
England begin their group stage fixtures against Austria on Sunday (kick-off: 7pm) with Scott very much in contention to start in central midfield, his more natural position having spent significant parts of the 2021/22 campaign as an auxiliary right wing-back.
The Guernsey teenager made 38 Championship appearances in his debut season under Nigel Pearson, having only signed his first professional contract last March, and his displays have understandably attracted interest from higher up the football pyramid.
Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham and Leicester City are among the Premier League clubs who have kept a close eye on the 18-year-old’s progress, with Scott under contract at Ashton Gate until 2025 having first being brought to the club by Brian Tinnion in December 2019.
Indeed, there is a feeling that the tournament in Slovakia, which begins on Saturday, will be an ideal opportunity for Premier League scouts to get a proper feel of Scott’s potential and how he ranks alongside his peers in the same international age group.
Bristol Live understands that club representatives have been unable to properly gauge and assess Scott’s value in the market due to the amount of games he played at right wing-back last season for City, whereas the next few weeks will see him start in his favoured and most natural position, among the country’s other elite level talent.
Scott, who was released from Southampton's academy in his early teens, to his credit, has shown no desire for a move and has spoken openly about the perils of moving to a Premier League club and being stuck in the Under-23 set-ups as opposed to earning regular first-team football.
Foster has used Scott as a No8 or even deeper No6 role for England, while for City his versatility has seen him play in a number of positions over the course of the season - as a playmaker, a wide attacking midfielder, a right wing-back and more orthodox central midfielder.
“Over the course of the season, many players have helped us get to where we are now and that made the final squad selection very challenging,” Foster said. “Each player that has represented the U19s this season has played their part in our journey to Slovakia. Those players who haven’t made the squad will no doubt be disappointed, but their England journey is by no means over, they will get opportunities in the future for sure.
“Five of the eight teams here will qualify for the FIFA U20 World Cup in 2023 so there is an extra incentive for the players to progress out of Group B. We are grateful to all of the clubs who have shown unwavering support of us selecting their players as they recognise the importance of this tournament in terms of the players’ development.
“This group of players have a real togetherness and that will be invaluable for us in this tournament. We know that if we play to our potential that we will give ourselves every opportunity to make this Euros a truly memorable one.”
England squad
Goalkeepers: Matthew Cox (Brentford), Harvey Davies (Liverpool), Teddy Sharman-Lowe (Chelsea)
Defenders: Luke Chambers (Liverpool), Callum Doyle (Manchester City), Ronnie Edwards (Peterborough United), Bashir Humphreys (Chelsea), Brooke Norton-Cuffy (Arsenal), Daniel Oyegoke (Brentford), Jarell Quansah (Liverpool)
Midfielders: Carney Chukwuemeka (Aston Villa), Alfie Devine (Tottenham Hotspur), Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (Borussia Dortmund), Sam Iling-Junior (Juventus), Tim Iroegbunam (Aston Villa), Aaron Ramsey (Aston Villa), Alex Scott (Bristol City), Harvey Vale (Chelsea)
Forwards: Liam Delap (Manchester City), Daniel Jebbison (Sheffield United), Dane Scarlett (Tottenham Hotspur)
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