Alexander Iacovitti (born 2 September 1997) is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a defender for club St Mirren. Iacovitti won

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. The origin of the word "cap" comes from the Old French word "chapeau" which means "head co ...

s with Scotland up to under-21 level and made his debut at club level for

Nottingham Forest Nottingham Forest Football Club is a professional association football club based in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England. The club competes in the Premier League, the top tier of English football league system, English football. Founde ...

in August 2016. He spent the first half of the 2016–17 season on

loan In finance, a loan is the tender of money by one party to another with an agreement to pay it back. The recipient, or borrower, incurs a debt and is usually required to pay interest for the use of the money. The document evidencing the deb ...

Mansfield Town Mansfield Town Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England. The team competes in , the third level of the English football league system. The club was formed in 1897 as Mans ...

and the first half of the 2017–18 campaign on loan at

Forest Green Rovers Forest Green Rovers Football Club is a professional association football club based in Nailsworth, Gloucestershire, England. The team competes in the National League, the fifth level of the English football league system. Formed in October 188 ...

. He joined

Oldham Athletic Oldham Athletic Association Football Club is a professional association football club in Oldham, Greater Manchester, England. As of the 2025–26 EFL League Two, 2025–26 season, the team competes in EFL League Two, the fourth level of the Eng ...

on loan in January 2019, making the deal permanent four months later. He signed with

Scottish Premiership The Scottish Premiership, also known as the William Hill (bookmaker), William Hill Premiership for sponsorship reasons, is a professional association football league in Scotland and the highest level of the Scottish football league system. Th ...

club Ross County in June 2020, where he would play 116 games throughout three seasons. He joined

Port Vale Port Vale Football Club are a professional football club based in Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, England, which compete in , the third tier of the English football league system. Vale are named after the valley of ports on the Trent and Mersey Canal ...

in July 2023. He returned to the Scottish Premiership in July 2024 after being signed by St Mirren for an undisclosed fee.

Club career

Nottingham Forest

Iacovitti joined the

Academy An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...

at the age eleven, becoming an ever-present in the under-18 team that reached the play-off semi-final and

FA Youth Cup The Football Association Youth Challenge Cup is an English football competition run by The Football Association for under-18 sides. Only those players between the age of 15 and 18 on 31 August of the current season are eligible to take part. It ...

quarter-final. Following the departure of

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of organizations, whether businesses, nonprofit organizations, or a government bodies through business administration, nonprofit management, or the political science sub-field of public administra ...

Dougie Freedman Douglas Alan Freedman (born 25 May 1974) is a Scottish professional football manager and former player. He is currently the sporting director of Al-Diriyah, where he has been since 2025. Freedman played as a striker, primarily for Crystal Pal ...

, Iacovitti was linked with a move to

Aston Villa Aston Villa Football Club (commonly referred to as simply Villa) is a professional football club based in Aston, Birmingham, England. The club, founded in 1874, compete in the Premier League, the top tier of English football. The team have p ...

in August 2015, where former Forest academy boss Kevin MacDonald was now assistant manager. He remained in Nottingham, however, and made his professional debut for the club on 6 August 2016, starting at left-back under

Philippe Montanier Philippe Jacques William Montanier (born 15 November 1964) is a French professional football manager and former player who was most recently the head coach of club Toulouse. As a player, he was as a goalkeeper. Montanier led Boulogne, Lens and ...

in a 4–3 win over

Burton Albion Burton Albion Football Club is a professional association football club in the town of Burton upon Trent, Staffordshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third level of the English football league system. The club moved its home g ...

at the

City Ground The City Ground is a association football, football stadium in West Bridgford, Nottinghamshire, England, on the banks of the River Trent. It has been home to Nottingham Forest F.C., Nottingham Forest since 1898 and has a capacity of 30,455. ...

. On 31 August, Iacovitti joined League Two club

for the 2016–17 season. Stags manager Adam Murray had been in need of a centre-half following a

hamstring A hamstring () is any one of the three posterior thigh muscles in human anatomy between the hip and the knee: from medial to lateral, the semimembranosus, semitendinosus and biceps femoris. Etymology The word " ham" is derived from the Old ...

injury to Kyle Howkins. Iacovitti made his debut at

Field Mill Field Mill, currently known as One Call Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a Football pitch, football ground in Mansfield, Nottinghamshire, England, and the home of Mansfield Town F.C., Mansfield Town Football Club. It is the oldest ground in ...

on 10 September in a 1–0 defeat to

Barnet Barnet may refer to: People *Barnet (surname) *Barnet (given name) Places United Kingdom *Chipping Barnet or High Barnet, commonly known as Barnet, one of three focal towns of the borough below. *East Barnet, a district of the borough below; anc ...

. On 12 November, Iacovitti was shown a

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in the 74th-minute away at

Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...

after a late challenge on Michael Doyle; a goal down at the time, Mansfield went on to lose the game 4–0 having also had Howkins dismissed. This was his last appearance for the club and he returned to Nottingham early from his loan spell on 1 January; Steve Evans, who had replaced Murray as manager in November, cited the reason as a lack of playing time. On 31 July 2017, Iacovitti was loaned to League Two club

for the 2017–18 season. He scored his first goal in senior football on 18 November, when his 93rd-minute winner secured a 3–2 victory over

Crewe Alexandra Crewe Alexandra Football Club is a professional association football club based in the town of Crewe, Cheshire, England. Its first team competes in League Two, the fourth level of the English football league system. Nicknamed 'The Railwaymen' ...

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and sent manager Mark Cooper into a celebratory dash down the

touchline In sports, out of bounds (or out-of-bounds) refers to being outside the playing boundaries of the field. The legality of going out of bounds (intentionally or not), and the ease of prevention, vary by sport. Sports that use this term include Am ...

. He featured a total of 19 times for Forest Green. He was linked with a move to

Notts County Notts County Football Club is a professional association football, football club in Nottingham, England, which competes in EFL League Two, the fourth tier of Football in England, English football, following promotion and relegation, promotion ...

before

Kevin Nolan Kevin Anthony Jance Nolan (born 24 June 1982) is an English former professional footballer and coach, who manages Northampton Town. He has represented England at under-21 level. After growing up in Toxteth, Liverpool, Nolan signed for Bolton ...

's departure in August 2018.

Oldham Athletic

On 28 January 2019, Iacovitti joined League Two side

on loan for the remainder of the 2018–19 season. He played at centre-half and left-back, and credited senior players Peter Clarke and

David Wheater David James Wheater (born 14 February 1987) is an English former professional footballer who played as a defender. Primarily a centre back, he announced his retirement on 1 September 2023. In 2023, he began coaching young players in his own aca ...

with aiding his development. Iacovitti was released by Forest at the end of the season and on 21 May 2019, Iacovitti joined Oldham Athletic permanently on a two-year deal, with an option for a further year. However, having been initially signed by Pete Wild, club owner Abdallah Lemsagam had promised the

contract A contract is an agreement that specifies certain legally enforceable rights and obligations pertaining to two or more parties. A contract typically involves consent to transfer of goods, services, money, or promise to transfer any of thos ...

to Iacovitti without consulting stand-in manager

Paul Scholes Paul Scholes (born 16 November 1974) is an English football pundit, coach and former player. Widely regarded as one of the greatest midfielders of all time, Scholes spent his entire professional playing career with Manchester United, for whom h ...

, causing Scholes to quit in protest at ownership interference in first-team matters. Iacovitti made 30 appearances across the 2019–20 campaign under

Laurent Banide Laurent Banide (born 26 January 1968) is a French football manager who coaches Monaco's women's side. Coaching career Born in Alès, Banide had his first job in management with the youth of AS Monaco FC, as his father Gérard led the first team ...

and

Dino Maamria Noureddine "Dino" Maamria (born 18 February 1974) is a Tunisian football manager and former player who played as a striker. He was most recently manager of Burton Albion. Maamria started his playing career with AS Marsa of Tunisia. He left th ...

, scoring one goal in the

EFL Trophy The English Football League Trophy, officially known as the Vertu Motors, Vertu Trophy for sponsorship reasons, is an annual English association football, football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL League Two and ...

. His contract was terminated by mutual consent on 26 June 2020.

Ross County

On 26 June 2020, Iacovitti joined

club Ross County on a permanent contract. He made his debut at Victoria Park on 3 August in a 1–0 win over

Motherwell Motherwell (, ) is a List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, town and former burgh in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, United Kingdom, south east of Glasgow. It has a population of around 32,120. Shires of Scotland, Historically in the p ...

. Speaking in September, manager Stuart Kettlewell said that Iacovitti had "flown under the radar" with some strong performances at the start of the

2020–21 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

season. He maintained his first-team place under new manager

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and ended the campaign with four goals in 42 games. He started the 2021–22 season with two goals in two games, ending up with four goals in 33 appearances. He signed a new deal with the club in June 2022, having impressed manager

Malky Mackay Malcolm George Mackay (born 19 February 1972) is a Scottish professional association football, football coach and former player, who is the sporting director at Scottish Premiership club Hibernian F.C., Hibernian. Mackay, who played as a Defe ...

with his consistency and professionalism. He formed a strong central defensive partnership with Jack Baldwin, leading Mackay to say that Iacovitti had been among his most consistent performers since his arrival at the club. He scored four goals in 41 games in the

2022–23 The dash is a punctuation mark consisting of a long horizontal line. It is similar in appearance to the hyphen but is longer and sometimes higher from the baseline. The most common versions are the endash , generally longer than the hyphen ...

season, with two of his goals coming in defeats at home to

Celtic Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to: Language and ethnicity *pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia **Celts (modern) *Celtic languages **Proto-Celtic language *Celtic music *Celtic nations Sports Foot ...

. County finished in the relegation/promotion play-off place at the end of the campaign, which the club won. However, Iacovitti was unable to feature due to injury.

Port Vale

On 23 June 2023, Iacovitti agreed on a two-year deal with

League One League One or League 1 may refer to: Association football * EFL League One, the third tier of football in England. * China League One, the second tier of football in China * K League 1, the top-tier football in South Korea * Lao League 1 * Lea ...

side

, due to start on 1 July; manager

Andy Crosby Andrew Keith Crosby (born 3 March 1973) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager at club Tranmere Rovers. A defender during his playing days, he began his career at Leeds United. Still, he made his de ...

and

director of football A sporting director, or director of sport, is an senior management, executive management position in a sports club. The role is well known as a manager role for European football clubs, which are sometime also "sports clubs", offering many typ ...

david Flitcroft David John Flitcroft (born 14 January 1974) is an English professional football manager and former player. His older brother is the former Blackburn Rovers and Manchester City player Garry Flitcroft. A midfielder, Flitcroft began his career a ...

emphasised the player's strength and physical presence, in addition to his character. On 30 September, following a good start to the campaign, he sustained a calf injury in a 1–0 defeat to

Bolton Wanderers Bolton Wanderers Football Club ( ) is a professional association football, football club based in Horwich, Metropolitan Borough of Bolton, Greater Manchester, England, which competes in EFL League One, League One, the third level of the Englis ...

Vale Park Vale Park is a football stadium in the area of Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, England, and it has been the home ground of Port Vale Football Club since its opening in 1950. It has a current capacity of 15,695, and was renovated durin ...

which saw him ruled out for a minimum of eight weeks. He initially struggled for form upon his return to fitness before looking more assured as the weeks went by. He featured 38 times in the 2023–24 season as the "Valiants" were relegated into League Two.

St Mirren

On 16 July 2024, Iacovitti returned to the Scottish Premiership after signing a two-year deal with St Mirren, who paid Port Vale an undisclosed transfer fee. Manager

Stephen Robinson Stephen Kern "Steve" Robinson (born October 26, 1955) is an American former NASA astronaut. Education He was active in the Boy Scouts of America, where he achieved its second-highest rank, Life Scout. Robinson graduated from Campolindo High ...

cited the need to add experience to his young squad, as well as a balance between left and right-footed defenders. Iacovitti said that the chance to play European football appealed to him. He scored on his debut for the Buddies in a 4–1 win over Valur in a

UEFA Conference League The UEFA Conference League (UECL), usually known simply as the Conference League, is an annual football competition organised since 2021 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. It is the thir ...

qualification game at

St Mirren Park St Mirren Park, also known as The SMISA Stadium for sponsorship reasons, is a football stadium in Paisley, Scotland. It is the home of St Mirren F.C.. The stadium is the sixth home of the club and replaced Love Street. History Talks over a ...

. He scored again off the bench in the away leg of the next qualifying round, in Bergen against

SK Brann Sportsklubben Brann is a Norwegian professional football club based in Bergen. Founded on 26 September 1908, Brann has played in the first tier of Norwegian football for 67 out of 80 seasons, the second most of any club. They play their hom ...

. He suffered an injury early in the 2024–25 season, which kept him out of action until Christmas.

Charles Dunne Charles Dunne (born 13 February 1993) is a professional footballer who plays as a defender for NIFL Premiership club Coleraine. He has previously played for Wycombe Wanderers, Staines Town, Blackpool, Crawley Town, Oldham Athletic, Motherwell ...

was re-signed as cover. Robinson said that Iacovitti would provide "leadership and aggression" upon his return to the

first XI The First XI (or, less commonly, First 11) are the eleven primary players in an organisation's leading team, particularly a football or cricket team. A player who is considered a core part of the starting line-up in a First XI team is often the ...

. However, Iacovitti aggravated his hamstring injury in January and was sidelined for a further two months.

International career

Born in England to an Italian father and a Scottish mother, Iacovitti made his debut for the Scotland under-19 team in a 1–0 victory over

Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...

on 4 September 2015. He won nine

s at under-19 level over a seven-month period, with five games being in Scotland's unsuccessful

2016 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification The 2016 UEFA European Under-19 Championship qualification was a men's under-19 football competition organised by UEFA to determine the seven national teams joining the automatically qualified hosts Germany in the 2016 UEFA European Under-19 Champ ...

campaign. He was

capped In sport, a cap is a player's appearance in a game at international level. The term dates from the practice in the United Kingdom of awarding a cap to every player in an international match of rugby football and association football. In the e ...

at under-20 level in a 3–2 defeat to the

Czech Republic The Czech Republic, also known as Czechia, and historically known as Bohemia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the south ...

on 31 May 2017. He won a further four caps at under-20 level, featuring in the

2017 Toulon Tournament The 2017 Toulon Tournament (officially ) was the 45th edition of the Toulon Tournament. The tournament was named after Maurice Revello, who started the tournament in 1967 and died in 2016. It was held in the department of Bouches-du-Rhône from 29 ...

where Scotland finished third. He won his first under-21 cap in a 2–0 defeat to

Iceland Iceland is a Nordic countries, Nordic island country between the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge between North America and Europe. It is culturally and politically linked with Europe and is the regi ...

on 5 October 2016. In total he won four caps at under-21 level, including two

2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification The 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualifying competition was a men's under-21 football competition that determined the 11 teams joining the automatically qualified hosts Poland in the 2017 UEFA European Under-21 Championship tournament ...

matches.

Style of play

Iacovitti is a central defender, though he is also able to play as a left-back. A threat from set pieces due to his height, he has good mental attributes and is a leader at the back. He has pace. He is comfortable on the ball, leaving him able to carry the ball out of defence with his left foot.

Career statistics

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Iacovitti, Alex 1997 births Living people Footballers from Nottingham Scottish men's footballers Scotland men's under-21 international footballers Scotland men's youth international footballers English men's footballers English people of Scottish descent English people of Italian descent Italian British sportspeople Sportspeople of Italian descent Men's association football defenders Men's association football central defenders Men's association football fullbacks Nottingham Forest F.C. players Mansfield Town F.C. players Forest Green Rovers F.C. players Oldham Athletic A.F.C. players Ross County F.C. players Port Vale F.C. players St Mirren F.C. players English Football League players Scottish Professional Football League players 21st-century English sportsmen 21st-century Scottish sportsmen