Alex Mowatt has admitted that he ‘didn’t take it seriously’ when he was at Leeds United, as he told Sky Sports Football (01/10/21 at 7:15 pm).
The 26-year-old is now at West Brom and he shared that then-Leeds boss Garry Monk told him that he was treating football like it was a ‘given’.
Along with Kalvin Phillips at Thorp Arch, Mowatt came through the ranks at Elland Road.
But his career path ended up being pretty different to the man now donning England colours on a regular basis.
Mowatt left Leeds for Barnsley in 2017, with a spell to League One in between, but since then, he has picked up his game and revived his career.
That included him guiding the Tykes to a play-off finish last season, which earned him a move to West Brom, after they dropped from the Premier League.
Speaking about his final years in Leeds colours, and the start of his Barnsley career, Mowatt was pretty blunt in where his mind was.
“My last year at Leeds and first year at Barnsley,” said Mowatt. “I just felt that football was a given and didn’t take it as seriously as it should be.
“That’s what Garry Monk said to me when I left. When there was a young group of us coming through at Leeds together, we used to have a laugh and joke about most days.
“If you are not taking seriously then it shows at the weekend. When you are giving it 110% then it also shows on the weekend.”
Well, better late than never and that is proving to be the case with Mowatt now.
Leeds have produced a number of top talents from their academy and there’s no doubt that Mowatt was one of the promising names.
But if it’s a kick up the backside that players need, well Mowatt has had his and he is learning from it.
He is proving, with three goals already from midfield this season, that he is too good for England’s second-tier and it won’t be too long before he tastes Premier League football.
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