Alex Jones’s biography, net worth, fact, career, awards and life story

Alexander “Alex” Jones (born 28 September 1994) is an English footballer who plays for League One club Bradford City. A striker, he began his career with West Bromwich Albion, and in 2015 spent time with Grimsby Town of the National League. A loan move to A-League club Wellington Phoenix in 2016 fell through because of an administrative error by New Zealand Football. He joined Port Vale on a five-month loan deal in August 2016, and signed a two-and-a-half-year contract with Bradford City the following January.

Club career

West Bromwich Albion

Jones was born in Sutton Coldfield, and began his football career as a youngster with West Bromwich Albion at the age of 12. He was a member of the team that won the UK finals of the Nike Premier Cup in 2009, and took up a two-year scholarship in 2011. When his initial scholarship ended in 2013, he was given a third year. During the 2013–14 season he helped the club’s reserve side win the Birmingham Senior Cup, and in May 2015 he signed his first professional contract, of one year with the option of a second. Jones sustained an injury during a pre-season friendly that kept him out for three months; he scored twice on his return to the under-21 team, and came up with another two goals in his next three matches. Nevertheless, the club decided not to take up the option on his contract – which came as a shock to the player – and in the latter part of the season he had trials with Walsall and Birmingham City.

Birmingham City

After appearing in two under-21 matches as part of his trial, the Championship club were sufficiently impressed to offer Jones a two-year contract, which he accepted. He played regularly for the club’s under-21 team in the 2015–16 season, and in November, he joined National League club Grimsby Town on a month’s loan to gain experience of senior football. Although only meeting the team on the way to the match, he came on as a late substitute and set up a goal for Pádraig Amond as Grimsby won 3–0 away to Barrow. Jones made six appearances during the month; although he did not score, his contribution to the team was such that Grimsby wanted to keep him on, but Birmingham were not prepared to extend the loan.

West Bromwich Albion’s goalkeeping coach Jonathan Gould, who formerly coached at Wellington Phoenix, had recommended Jones to the New Zealand-based A-League club before his move to Birmingham, but at the time they had no vacancy for a foreign player. In January 2016, they renewed their interest, and Jones signed on loan to the end of the 2015–16 season. Birmingham’s development coach Richard Beale said the player would benefit from playing regular senior football, and that he deserved his chance because of his professionalism and positive attitude despite not being able to force his way into Birmingham’s first team. The move fell through when New Zealand Football failed to forward the completed paperwork to FIFA before the transfer deadline despite having received it from the Phoenix three days previously. An appeal to the world governing body was unsuccessful, as FIFA “ruled to protect the integrity of their global deadlines for the transfer of players”. He remained with Birmingham and was a member of the reserve team that lost the 2016 Birmingham Senior Cup final to National League North champions Solihull Moors.

Port Vale (loan)

Jones joined League One side Port Vale on a five-month loan deal in August 2016. He remained eligible to play in non-first team fixtures for Birmingham City during the loan spell. He made his Football League debut at Vale Park on 16 August, as an 84th-minute substitute for Anton Forrester in a 1–0 win over Rochdale; he won a penalty within two minutes of coming onto the field, though JJ Hooper missed the ensuing penalty, and Jones also had a shot blocked by the last defender after running past goalkeeper Josh Lillis deep into stoppage time. On 27 August, he scored twice to help the “Valiants” record a 3–1 victory over Scunthorpe United despite being played at wide right of the front three. Manager Bruno Ribeiro praised him after the match, saying that “he was fantastic. He scored two goals and worked hard. … He is one more option for a winger”. Jones said that he enjoyed playing out of position at right-wing for Port Vale as Ribeiro allowed him a free creative role with few defensive duties, and he also admitted he hoped to extend the loan as he did not suit the style of play at his parent club. He was nominated for the League One Player of the Month award for August and September after scoring six goals in eight games. By the end of his loan spell, Jones had scored ten goals from 21 matches. Port Vale had hoped to convert the loan to a permanent deal, and according to club chairman Norman Smurthwaite, had agreed a fee with Birmingham but were unable to agree terms with the player’s agent.

Bradford City

On 5 January 2017, Jones signed for another League One club, Bradford City, on a two-and-a-half-year deal for an undisclosed fee.

Style of play

Jones has excellent finishing skills, and scored his first nine goals for Port Vale from just 19 shots.

Career statistics

As of match played 7 January 2017