Bristol City star boy Alex Scott aims to emulate West Ham star after scoring first England goal

Bristol City starlet Alex Scott says West Ham United’s Jarrod Bowen has given him the motivation to succeed in the professional game.

The 18-year-old is on international duty for England’s Under-19’s squad and is one of only three players not contracted to a Premier League academy.

And someone who Scott has positioned himself on is West Ham United star Jarrod Bowen, who has had a similar career path to him.

Bowen, rejected by Aston Villa and Cardiff City, began his senior career at Hereford United and has made the remarkable rise through the non-league to the top flight of English football.

That has the near same similarities as Scott who after being released by Southampton and Bournemouth, later turned out for Guernsey before his move to the West Country.

Fresh from scoring the equalising goal that helped England reach the final, Scott said to The Times: “I’ve come from non-League too. And look at Jarrod Bowen now with what he’s doing.

“All the senior group, we see them around St George’s when we’re there and they’re a massive inspiration for us. They are where we want to be in the future.”

Scott, brought on as a substitute in the 56th minute, scored two minutes after coming on to level things for the Three Lions against Italy.

His headed goal, the first of his career, got England back into the game and they ultimately ended up winning the game as Jarell Quansah scored late on.

Scott met the well-delivered corner of Tottenham Hotspur youngster Alfie Devine, in a set piece that had been rehearsed many times before kick-off.

“I had a feeling I was going to score from a header, especially from a corner.

“I know Alfie’s set-pieces are unbelievable and I read the flight of the ball.”

Devine’s ball could potentially be a sign of things to come given that Spurs are one of two Premier League clubs along with Leeds United reportedly interested in prizing him away from Ashton Gate.

But whilst not putting too much pressure on him, scoring goals in the colours of England is also perhaps a glimpse of what is to come in the future given how highly rated he is.

Scott’s England Under-19’s coach Ian Foster is perhaps the perfect mentor to put him on the right track to where he wants to be. The 45-year-old was on the books of Liverpool but was released and played mainly in the lower leagues for Hereford, Kidderminster Harriers and Chester City.

Scott, who scored four goals and got two assists last season, scored his goal with his foot whilst on Tuesday evening, he netted the first headed goal of his career.

Explaining to the Times how the goal came about, head coach Foster said the statue of the young City wonderkid deceived the two physical Italian centre-backs.

He said: “Alex jumps above his weight in terms of defending and attacking set plays, so he might be one that gets into the box and the opposition are thinking, ‘He isn’t a big’ un’, so they don’t put someone as strong on him.

“He’s quite deceiving in terms of his physicality. We’re delighted to get goals from set plays. They are almost a necessary evil when you’re training and the boys don’t particularly want to do it because it is not fun. It is structured, ‘you do this’, ‘you do that’ but it has got us to a final.”