Bristol City assistant manager Curtis Fleming believes Alex Scott’s conduct and professionalism over the last two-and-a-half years under Nigel Pearson serves as a shining example to the rest of the club’s academy talent as to what’s possible at the club.
Scott is on the verge of completing a transfer to Premier League Bournemouth in a deal worth £25million to City, having signed for the Robins from Guernsey FC in December 2019 as a 16-year-old.
It was Pearson who first brought Scott into the first-team set-up towards the end of the 2020/21 campaign, handing him his debut in April at Luton Town, not long after he had taken charge, before the teenager was given his first start on the opening day of the following season against Blackpool.
From that moment, Scott has developed into become an important and influential member of the Robins squad, making 91 appearances, with his reputation growing beyond BS3 as he’s been capped by England at Under-19 and U20 level and was named Championship Young Player of the Year last season.
Although Scott was involved throughout pre-season, including the final friendly at Portsmouth, his farewell at the end of the QPR game in May looks to be his last official appearance in a City shirt and Fleming admits that he goes with the blessings of everyone at the club.
Not just because of his performances on the pitch, or due to the substantial transfer fee received, but because of the path he’s now created for others to follow.
Since Pearson’s arrival, there has been a steady flow of academy talent into the first team with Tommy Conway, Sam Bell, Zak Vyner, Cam Pring and Max O’Leary regulars in the Championship, and behind that group Ayman Benarous, Jamie Knight-Lebel and Raph Aroaye set to follow in their footsteps.
Even on Wednesday night, not long after news broke of Scott’s likely departure, Pearson handed a debut to 17-year-old forward Ephraim Yeboah who was part of the senior squad during pre-season alongside Harry Leeson and Jed Meerholz.
“He’s been given the opportunity and that’s the biggest thing for any player, the belief,” Fleming said. “Over the 90 games, was he outstanding in every game? But you’ve got to stick with them and they’ve got to learn their trade sometimes in the hard environment that the Championship is.
“For him, there’s huge respect for Nige because he said to him, ‘if you do what I want you to do, then you’ll play’ and he was true to his word and the lad has come in and he’s done unbelievably well. He’s a top player, we all know that.
“We want him to do well and he’s a great guy around the place. And I think we all feel that he wouldn’t be leaving under a cloud. He’s worked his socks off, he’s never changed; he comes back from England and he’s picking disks up, working with Belly and Tommy shooting - there’s no change in the kid.
“For us, it’s hugely important for the young players that are coming up behind him to see that that’s the way it is: you don’t change, you don’t get above your station, it’s all about playing on a Saturday and if you do what you’re supposed to do, you will get an opportunity here.”
Fleming joked that any progress around the Scott deal was probably “above his pay grade” with the assistant manager taking press duties ahead of Saturday’s encounter against Millwall at The Den.
Pearson was curt in his replies on Wednesday night, in the wake of the win over Oxford United, that he was disappointed to see Scott go as, ultimately, he wanted to keep him, indicating some tension between manager and board.
But Fleming believes the Pearson-Scott dynamic almost goes beyond football, given the close bond they’ve developed over the last three years, and it can almost been seen as an emotional reaction to losing Scott. Not dissimilar to when Lee Johnson claimed Josh Brownhil’s departure to Burnley in January 2020 was like “selling his son.”
“Whatever happens, do you want Scotty to leave the team? No, you’ve got to be honest but, at the end of the day, if the price is right and it’s a move that Alex wants to do then that’s the way it is but Bristol City will always be part of his life, if he ends up going,” Fleming added.
“Nigel gave him his debut, he’s played 90 games. Would other coaches have given younger players as much of a chance? Nige is probably like his big uncle. He’s introduced him into the professional game and any club to lose him would be disappointed, but that’s football. Bristol City are here, we’re playing Millwall on Saturday and that’s our biggest goal at the moment.”
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