Ben Pearson

Manchester United

Pearson was born in Oldham, and attended Christ Church Primary School and Crompton House CE School. After playing youth football with Boundary Park Juniors he joined Manchester United's academy as a nine-year-old in July 2004. Pearson was a regular for the Manchester United under-18s, and his performances earned him the Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year award for 2012–13. Pearson joined League One side Barnsley on a one-month loan on 8 January 2015. Two days later, he made his professional debut, playing the full 90 minutes of a 2–0 home win over Yeovil Town. 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. His loan spell was extended by one month in February 2015 and on 9 March 2015 it was confirmed that he would remain at Barnsley until the end of the 2014–15 season. Pearson re-joined Barnsley on a six-month loan deal on 18 July 2015. Pearson made 29 appearances for the Tykes in 2015–16 before returning to Manchester United in January 2016.

Preston North End

On 11 January 2016, he signed for Championship side Preston North End for an undisclosed fee. He made 15 appearances in the remainder of the 2015–16 season as North End finished in 11th. Pearson scored his first goal for the club on 1 October 2016, opening the scoring in a 2–0 victory over Aston Villa. He signed a new three-and-a-half-year contract with Preston in December 2016. In…

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 was called-up to the England Under-18s in March 2013, 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. 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.

As of match played 12 September 2026

AFC Bournemouth

Championship runner-up: 2021–22 Individual

Jimmy Murphy Young Player of the Year: 2012–13