Ben Pearson (footballer)

Ben Pearson

Pearson playing for Barnsley
Personal information
Full name Benjamin David Pearson[1]
Date of birth (1995-01-04) 4 January 1995
Place of birth Oldham, England
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 1⁄2 in)
Playing position Midfielder
Club information
Current team
 Preston North End
Number 4
Youth career
2004–2014 Manchester United
Senior career*
Years Team Apps† (Gls)†
2014–2016 Manchester United 0 (0)
2015–2016 → Barnsley (loan) 45 (2)
2016– Preston North End 4 (0)
National team‡
2011 England U16 4 (0)
2011 England U17 4 (0)
2013 England U18 1 (0)
2013 England U19 8 (2)
2014– England U20 1 (0)

* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 17:00, 16 January 2016 (GMT).
† Appearances (goals)

‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 17:00, 17 January 2016 (GMT)

Benjamin David "Ben" Pearson (born 4 January 1995) is an English footballer who plays as a midfielder for Preston North End. Born in Oldham, he joined Manchester United at the age of 9 in July 2004 and worked his way up through the academy. He originally joined Barnsley on a one-month loan in January 2015, this got extended to a season long loan. He has also represented England at youth international level, playing for the under-16s, under-17s, under-18s, under-19s and under-20s.

Career

Club career

Born in Oldham, Pearson began his football career with Manchester United, joining their academy as a nine-year-old in July 2004. He made his debut for the under-18s as a 14-year-old in a friendly against Maltese club Hibernians on 28 October 2009. After appearing as an unused substitute in a league match against Crewe Alexandra on 17 December 2010,[2] he made his debut for the under-18s on 16 April 2011, coming on as a 63rd-minute substitute for the injured Charni Ekangamene in a 6–0 defeat away to Liverpool.[3] In July 2011, Pearson was part of the Manchester United under-17 side that reached the final of the Milk Cup, where they lost 5–1 to the ASPIRE Academy from Qatar.[4]

Two weeks later, Pearson was named as one of 16 first-year academy scholars for the 2011–12 season.[5] He made six appearances (four from the bench) before going down with a bout of glandular fever in November 2011. He made his return four months later, starting in a 3–3 home draw with Sunderland on 10 March 2012; after United went 3–0 up, he conceded the penalty that led to Sunderland's opening goal.[6] After playing 76 minutes of the first leg of the FA Youth Cup semi-final against Chelsea on 16 March,[7] Pearson scored his first goal for the under-18s in a 2–1 home win over Newcastle on 31 March.[8] By the end of the season, Pearson had become a regular fixture in the under-18s, finishing with 16 appearances.

Pearson started the 2012–13 season with a goal in each of the under-18s' first two matches, against Stoke City and Tottenham Hotspur.[9][10] By the start of February 2013, Pearson had appeared in 13 of a possible 14 matches for the under-18s, leading to his debut for the under-21s on 6 February, coming on as a substitute for Charni Ekangamene in a 7–0 win over Oldham Athletic in the Manchester Senior Cup.[11] Pearson was ever-present for the under-18s in the last 12 games of the season, and his performances earned him the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award for 2012–13.[12] With the under-18s season over, he joined up with the under-21s again for their last four games of the season, first of which was another Manchester Senior Cup fixture against Oldham, in which he played 69 minutes as United won 3–1 before he was replaced by Andreas Pereira.[13] Pearson's season culminated with an appearance in the Under-21 Premier League final against Tottenham at Old Trafford on 20 May, in which he was replaced by Tom Lawrence after 56 minutes.[14]

The 2013–14 season started for Pearson with the final of the previous season's Lancashire Senior Cup on 6 August 2013, coming on for goalscorer Davide Petrucci in the 81st minute as United beat Manchester City 2–1.[15] His next appearance came for the under-19s on 17 September, as they beat Bayer Leverkusen 4–3 at home in the opening match of the inaugural UEFA Youth League; Pearson marked the occasion by scoring United's second goal.[16] In the third game of the competition on 23 October, he was sent off in the dying seconds as United lost 1–0 at home to Real Sociedad.[17] Pearson was a regular in the under-21s for the rest of the season, making a total of 17 appearances in all competitions, plus five in the UEFA Youth League.

After seven appearances out of a possible 10 for the under-21s to start the 2014–15 season, Pearson joined League One side Barnsley on a one-month loan on 8 January 2015.[18] Two days later, he made his professional debut, playing the full 90 minutes of a 2–0 home win over Yeovil Town.[19] He scored his first senior goal in Barnsley's game at home to Port Vale on 31 January, scoring their second just after half-time in a 2–1 win.[20]

He signed for Championship side Preston North End for a fee of around £650,000, on 11 January 2016. He took the number 4 shirt.[21]

International career

Pearson made his international debut for the England Under-16s in a 2–1 win at home to Scotland on 30 March 2011. He made three more appearances for the Under-16s, against Uruguay, the United Arab Emirates and Guinea. Before the end of the year, he made four appearances for the Under-17s, including wins over Italy and the Netherlands.

Pearson's impressive form for Manchester United in 2012–13 led to a call-up to the England Under-18s in March 2013, and despite not captaining his club side, he was asked to lead the national team for their 1–0 defeat away to Belgium on 30 March. He only made the one appearance for the Under-18s before making the step up to Under-19 level in May 2013, making his debut against Georgia on 24 May. He played in all three of England's qualifying round matches ahead of the 2014 UEFA European Under-19 Championship, scoring twice in a 7–0 win over Andorra as England finished top of their group ahead of Switzerland and Slovenia.[22][23]

He made one appearance for the England Under-20s in October 2014, a 3–2 win over the Netherlands, in which he was substituted by Harrison Reed in the first minute of injury time.[24]

Career statistics

As of match played 3 January 2016.
Club Season Division League Cup League Cup Total
AppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoalsAppsGoals
Manchester United 2014–15[25] Premier League 00000000
Barnsley (loan) 2014–15[25] League One 221——221
Barnsley (loan) 2015–16[26] League One 23 1 4 1 2 0 29 1
Career totals 4524120512

References

  1. ↑ "Barclays Premier League Squad Lists 2013/14 are revealed". premierleague.com (Premier League). 4 September 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  2. ↑ Hibbs, Ben (17 December 2010). "U18s: United 2 Crewe 3". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  3. ↑ Marshall, Adam (16 April 2011). "U18: Liverpool 6 United 0". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  4. ↑ Marshall, Adam (29 July 2011). "Milk Cup beating for Reds". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  5. ↑ Marshall, Adam (10 August 2011). "Reds draft in scholars". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  6. ↑ Marshall, Adam (10 March 2012). "U18s: United 3 Sunderland 3". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  7. ↑ Thompson, Gemma (16 March 2012). "FAYC: United 1 Chelsea 2". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  8. ↑ Marshall, Adam (31 March 2012). "U18s: Utd 2 Newc 1". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  9. ↑ Marshall, Adam (18 August 2012). "United U18 1 Stoke U18 2". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  10. ↑ Bostock, Adam (25 August 2012). "U18s: Spurs 3 United 4". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  11. ↑ Marshall, Adam (6 February 2013). "Res: United 7 Oldham 0". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  12. ↑ Marshall, Adam (15 May 2013). "Academy prize for Pearson". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  13. ↑ Butler, Cliff (3 May 2013). "Res: United 3 Oldham 1". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  14. ↑ Marshall, Adam (20 May 2013). "Report: United 3 Spurs 2". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  15. ↑ Butler, Cliff (6 August 2013). "Reserves win Lancashire Cup". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  16. ↑ Marshall, Adam (17 September 2013). "U19: Utd 4 Leverkusen 3". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  17. ↑ Marshall, Adam (23 October 2013). "U19: Utd 0 Sociedad 1". ManUtd.com (Manchester United). Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  18. ↑ "Barnsley: Milan Lalkovic, Ben Pearson and George Waring sign". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 8 January 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  19. ↑ "Barnsley 2–0 Yeovil". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 10 January 2015. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  20. ↑ "Barnsley 2–1 Port Vale". BBC Sport (British Broadcasting Corporation). 31 January 2015. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  21. ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/35283457
  22. ↑ Šinkovc, Rok (15 October 2013). "England edge Switzerland for Group 9 supremacy". UEFA.com (Union of European Football Associations). Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  23. ↑ "Andorra 0–7 England". UEFA.com. Union of European Football Associations. 12 October 2013. Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  24. ↑ Reid, Jamie (11 October 2014). "Super sub Akpom nets twice as U20s stun Holland". TheFA.com (The Football Association). Retrieved 10 January 2015.
  25. 1 2 "Games played by Ben Pearson in 2014/2015". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 February 2015.
  26. ↑ "Games played by Ben Pearson in 2015/2016". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 2 February 2015.

External links

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