 Mowatt playing forLeeds United in 2014 | |||
| Personal information | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Alex James Mowatt[1] | ||
| Date of birth | (1995-02-13)13 February 1995 (age 30)[2] | ||
| Place of birth | Doncaster, England | ||
| Height | 5 ft 10 in (1.77 m)[2] | ||
| Position | Midfielder | ||
| Team information | |||
Current team | West Bromwich Albion | ||
| Number | 27 | ||
| Youth career | |||
| 2004–2013 | Leeds United | ||
| Senior career* | |||
| Years | Team | Apps | (Gls) |
| 2013–2017 | Leeds United | 116 | (12) |
| 2017–2021 | Barnsley | 146 | (20) |
| 2017–2018 | →Oxford United (loan) | 30 | (2) |
| 2021– | West Bromwich Albion | 121 | (13) |
| 2022–2023 | →Middlesbrough (loan) | 28 | (0) |
| International career | |||
| 2014 | England U19 | 1 | (0) |
| 2015 | England U20 | 1 | (0) |
| * Club domestic league appearances and goals as of 09:13, 13 May 2025 (UTC) | |||
Alex James Mowatt (born 13 February 1995) is an English professionalfootballer who plays as amidfielder forEFL Championship clubWest Bromwich Albion.
Mowatt was born inDoncaster and attendedDon Valley Academy, whilst playing for junior club Bentley PumasDoncaster, Mowatt's talents were recognised by Leeds in 2003 and Mowatt was signed to Leeds United's academy at the age of nine. After progressing through Leeds youth ranks, including captaining Leeds Under 18s, Mowatt signed a professional deal at Leeds.[3] Mowatt captained Leeds Under 18s team managed byRichard Naylor and led the Under 18s to win the Under 18 League Championship during the 2012–13 season. He captained Leeds Under 18s during a 3–1 loss against Liverpool Under 18s on 1 March 2013 atAnfield in Leeds' Under 18s in the FA Youth Cup run.[4] TheYorkshire Evening Post's Phil Hay said that Mowatt's performances and style of play was reminiscent to a youngBarry Ferguson.[5]
After his impressive performances in the academy andNeil Redfearn's Development Squad, Mowatt broke into the Leeds team during the 2013–14 season during the pre-season training with the first team. He was named on the bench for Leeds' first team in a 2–1 win against Chesterfield in the League Cup.[6]
On 27 August 2013, Mowatt made his debut for Leeds when he started his first professional game in Leeds 3–1 victory againstDoncaster Rovers in the League Cup.[7][8] After the match, Leeds managerBrian McDermott praised his performance.
Mowatt was given his second start for Leeds in the match againstNewcastle United in the League Cup and put in another impressive performance despite a 2–0 loss for Leeds.[9] His performance was rewarded when he was named in the starting line-up to make his league debut in a 2–0 defeat away toMillwall.[10] On 5 December 2013, he signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract with the club.[11]
On 1 February 2014, only the day after the alleged sacking of the man who gave Mowatt his debut, Brian McDermott, Mowatt scored his first goal for Leeds in a 5–1 victory against local rivalsHuddersfield Town.[12]
Mowatt won the Leeds United Young Player of the Season Award at the club's annual awards, on 2 May. He also finished third in the voting for the Fans' Player of the Year Award.[13]
On 1 August, Mowatt was assigned the number 27 shirt for the 2014–15 season.[14] After picking up an injury againstBirmingham City on 26 April 2014[15] and a long spell out injured,[16] he returned to the Leeds starting 11 making his first appearance of the season againstBolton Wanderers on 30 August 2014.[17]
On 13 September 2014 Mowatt scored his first league goal of the 2014–15 season againstBirmingham City in a 1–1 draw.[18] he badly bruised his toe during the game which ruled him out of the following fixture againstBournemouth.[19] He followed this up with a goal in a 3–1 loss againstCardiff City on 1 November in Neil Redfearn's first game as permanent head coach,[20] in the following game on 4 November he scored a brace with two long range efforts in a 2–2 draw againstCharlton Athletic.[21] After getting three goals and two assists in November, on 4 December Mowatt was shortlisted for the Championship's Player of the Month award,[22] but lost out toBrentford'sAndre Gray.[23] He was handed the Football League's Young Player of the Month award for November on 18 December 2014.[24]
Mowatt scored a free kick in a 1–0 win against Millwall on 14 February;[25] he followed this up with a long range strike in a 1–0 victory against Middlesbrough on 21 February.[26] He scored another free kick on 4 March in a 2–1 victory againstIpswich Town[27] before following this up with a right footed volley from outside the box in a 1–0 victory againstWigan Athletic on 7 March.[28] His ninth goal of the season came on 6 April in a 4–3 loss againstWolverhampton Wanderers with Mowatt scoring a curling long range effort.[29]
On 9 April, after rumoured Premier League interest in Mowatt and teammatesLewis Cook,Charlie Taylor andSam Byram, head coach Neil Redfearn challenged Leeds United's owners to keep a hold of their home grown talents.[30]
On 1 May 2015, Mowatt was named theYorkshire Evening Post's Player of the Year for the 2014–15 season.[31] On 2 May 2015, Mowatt won the Fans' Player of the Year Award and also the Players' Player of the Year award atLeeds United's official end of 2014–15 season awards ceremony.[32]
On 31 July 2015, Mowatt was given the number 10 shirt for the upcoming 2015–16 season.[33] He scored the opening goal in United's 2–0 pre-season win overEverton in what was described by a pundit as a "Barcelona style goal".[citation needed] On 4 November 2015, he scored an unstoppable shot from 25 yards to the top corner of the goal in the 1–0 victory overCardiff. On 7 November, he scored again in the following game with a long-range strike in a 3–0 victory against Yorkshire rivalsHuddersfield Town.[34]
On 5 August, Mowatt was given the squad number 27 shirt for the 2016–17 season withMarcus Antonsson taking over the number 10 shirt previously held by Mowatt.[35] On 9 January 2017, he scored his first goal of the season in Leeds' 2–1FA Cup win againstCambridge United.[36]
On 27 January 2017, Mowatt joined Championship rivalsBarnsley on a two-and-a-half-year deal, for an undisclosed fee[37][38][39] reported to be around £600,000.[40] He retained the number 27 shirt he had worn at Leeds United.
Mowatt arrived under significant pressure to fill the vacancy left byConor Hourihane who had departed toAston Villa earlier in the transfer window.[41] He made his debut on 31 January, during which he was sent off just before half time. After his return from suspension he featured regularly until the end of the season, scoring his first goal for Barnsley in the penultimate game of the season in a 3–2 defeat toBristol City.[42]
Mowatt was sent a season-long loan to Oxford United on 31 August 2017[43] after failing to make the impact desired by managerPaul Heckingbottom. Barnsley instead elected to signGary Gardner on a season-long loan from Aston Villa to fill the gap in central midfield. Heckingbottom emphasised that Mowatt's loan move was only temporary and that he envisaged a career for him atOakwell.
Mowatt returned to Barnsley ahead of the 2018–19 season after their relegation to League One. He formed a key partnership in midfield with teammateCameron McGeehan. The pair played together in 39 of Barnsley's 46 league matches, Mowatt appearing in all of them. Mowatt scored his first goal of the season in a 1–1 draw againstPlymouth Argyle on 2 October 2018.[44] On 27 October 2018, Mowatt scored the only goal of the game in a 1–0 home victory overBristol Rovers through a left-footed shot from outside the area.[45] On 12 January 2019, Mowatt put in a man of the match performance in a 3–0 victory againstBradford City, assisting the first two goals forJacob Brown andKieffer Moore and scoring the third himself.[46] Mowatt scored two goals over Easter weekend, the first in a 2–1 victory overShrewsbury Town at Oakwell on 19 April 2019, the second in a 3–0 overPlymouth Argyle atHome Park on 22 April 2019.[47]
Mowatt was named the club's player of the season during the2019–20 campaign as Barnsley avoided relegation from the Championship with a dramatic win overBrentford on the final day of the season.[48][49] On 9 April 2021, Mowatt was awarded theChampionship Player of the Month award as Barnsley pushed for play-offs.[50]
On 2 July 2021,West Bromwich Albion announced Mowatt had followed former Barnsley coachValérien Ismaël in joining the club. He scored his first goal for West Brom in a 4–0 win againstSheffield United on 18 August.[51]
On 13 August 2022, Mowatt joinedMiddlesbrough on loan for the2022–23 season.[52]
On 22 May 2024, West Brom announced it had offered the player a new contract.[53]
In October 2013, after being watched by England Under 21s managerGareth Southgate against Birmingham City, Mowatt was called up to theEngland U19 for the fixture against Hungary in November.[54]
On 5 March 2014, Mowatt made hisEngland U19 debut in a 3–0 victory against Turkey.[55]
Mowatt was watched byScotland's assistant,Mark McGhee, during Leeds' 2–0 defeat to Brighton on 24 February. Mowatt qualifies for Scotland through his father's side of the family.[56]
On 25 March 2015, Mowatt was named on the subs bench forEngland U20 against Mexico, but did not feature in the game. However, four days later Mowatt made his debut against the United States, completing 79 minutes of the match.[57] In December 2015, Leeds head coachSteve Evans revealed thatScotland managerGordon Strachan had been in touch regarding the possibility of calling up Mowatt for the fullScotland national side.[58]
| Club | Season | League | FA Cup | League Cup | Other | Total | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | ||
| Leeds United | 2013–14[59] | Championship | 29 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 31 | 1 |
| 2014–15[60] | Championship | 38 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 38 | 9 | |
| 2015–16[61] | Championship | 34 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 36 | 2 | |
| 2016–17[62] | Championship | 15 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 1 | |
| Total | 116 | 12 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 125 | 13 | ||
| Barnsley | 2016–17[62] | Championship | 11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 1 |
| 2017–18[63] | Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2018–19[64] | League One | 46 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1[a] | 0 | 51 | 8 | |
| 2019–20[65] | Championship | 44 | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 3 | |
| 2020–21[66] | Championship | 40 | 8 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 46 | 8 | |
| Total | 142 | 20 | 8 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 156 | 20 | ||
| Oxford United (loan) | 2017–18[63] | League One | 30 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3[a] | 1 | 35 | 3 |
| West Bromwich Albion | 2021–22[67] | Championship | 34 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 34 | 4 |
| 2022–23[66] | Championship | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2023–24[68] | Championship | 43 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 48 | 2 | |
| 2024–25[69] | Championship | 26 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 27 | 4 | |
| Total | 104 | 10 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 111 | 10 | ||
| Middlesbrough (loan) | 2022–23[66] | Championship | 28 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2[b] | 0 | 31 | 0 |
| Career total | 420 | 44 | 15 | 1 | 15 | 0 | 8 | 1 | 458 | 46 | ||
Barnsley
Individual
