Aynsley Pears
Pears warming up for Blackburn Rovers in 2022
Personal information
Full name Aynsley Alan William Pears[1]
Date of birth (1998-04-23) 23 April 1998 (age 25)[2]
Place of birth Durham, England[3]
Height 1.86 m (6 ft 1 in)
Position(s) Goalkeeper
Team information
Current team
 Blackburn Rovers
Number 1
Youth career
2007–2016 Middlesbrough
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2016–2020 Middlesbrough 24 (0)
2018 → Darlington (loan) 16 (0)
2018–2019 → Gateshead (loan) 44 (0)
2020– Blackburn Rovers 33 (0)
International career‡
2016 England U19 2 (0)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 16:48, 4 October 2023 (UTC)
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 23:00, 20 August 2019 (UTC)

Aynsley Alan William Pears (born 23 April 1998) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for EFL Championship club Blackburn Rovers.

Early life

Pears is the son of former Middlesbrough goalkeeper Stephen Pears.[3]

Club career

Middlesbrough

On 17 January 2018, Pears was loaned out to Darlington, first for one month, then again for the remainder of the season.[4] He would make a total of 16 appearances for the National League North side, keeping 5 clean sheets in his first 9 games.[2][5]

On 27 July 2018, Pears joined Gateshead on a season-long loan.[6] He would go on to make a total of 45 appearances, keeping 12 clean sheets and netting the club's Player's Player of the Year award at the season's close.[7]

Following this previous campaign, Pears made his debut for parent club Middlesbrough in a 2–2 draw with Crewe Alexandra in the EFL Cup, which Crewe won 4–2 on penalties.[8] In total, Pears made 25 competitive appearances for Middlesbrough before departing for fellow Championship side Blackburn Rovers.

Blackburn Rovers

On 16 October 2020, Pears joined EFL Championship club Blackburn Rovers for an undisclosed fee, signing a four-year-deal with the Lancashire outfit. It saw Pears end his 13-year association with Middlesbrough, although the move saw Pears link-up with former Boro manager Tony Mowbray and academy teammate Harry Chapman once again.[9]

On 27 October, Pears made his debut for his new side, a game which saw Blackburn record a 4–2 defeat against Championship league leaders Reading.[10]

On 1 October 2023, Pears had to be substituted off having sustained an injury to his foot following a collision with Jamie Vardy in Blackburn’s 4–1 defeat at home against Leicester City. He was replaced by debutant Leopold Wahlstedt.[11]

International career

On 24 August 2016, Pears was called up alongside academy teammate Hayden Coulson by the England under-19s national team for their international friendly fixtures against the Netherlands and Belgium.[12]

Pears made his England U19s debut on 1 September in a 1–1 draw against the Netherlands, coming on as a substitute for Will Mannion in the 46th minute.[13] His final appearance for the U19s national team came on 10 October in England's 2–1 win against Bulgaria.

On 21 March 2018, Pears was called up by the under-20s for their games against Poland and Portugal after Leeds United youngster Will Huffer was forced to withdraw at the last minute due to an injury. It would be the last time Pears was called up for the England youth setup.[14]

Career statistics

As of match played 8 May 2023
Appearances and goals by club, season and competition
Club Season League FA Cup League Cup Other Total
Division Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals Apps Goals
Middlesbrough 2016–17[15] Premier League 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2017–18[16] Championship 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2018–19[17] 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
2019–20[18] 24 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 25 0
Total 24 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 25 0
Darlington (loan) 2017–18[19] National League North 16 0 — — 0 0 16 0
Gateshead (loan) 2018–19[17] National League 44 0 1 0 — 0 0 45 0
Blackburn Rovers 2020–21[20] Championship 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
2021–22[21] 3 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 4 0
2022–23[22] 18 0 4 0 4 0 0 0 26 0
Total 24 0 6 0 4 0 0 0 34 0
Career total 108 0 7 0 5 0 0 0 120 0

References

  1. ^ "Notification of shirt numbers: Middlesbrough" (PDF). English Football League. p. 42. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
  2. ^ a b "Aynsley Pears". mfc.co.uk. Middlesbrough F.C. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  3. ^ a b "11v11". 11v11.com. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  4. ^ "Quakers Sign Aynsley Pears From Boro". darlingtonfc.co.uk. Darlington F.C. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  5. ^ "Pears A Revelation". thenorthernecho.co.uk. thenorthernecho. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  6. ^ "Aynsley Takes Heed & Goes On Loan". mfc.co.uk. Middlesbrough F.C. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  7. ^ "Award Recognition For Aynsley Pears". mfc.co.uk. Middlesbrough F.C. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  8. ^ "Boro 2 Crewe Alexandra 2 (Crewe 4–2 On Penalties". mfc.co.uk. Middlesbrough F.C. Retrieved 21 August 2019.
  9. ^ "Rovers complete keeper capture". Blackburn Rovers Official Site. Retrieved 16 October 2020.
  10. ^ "Blackburn Rovers 2–4 Reading: Royals go seven points clear". BBC Sport. 27 October 2020. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  11. ^ "Leicester regain top spot with win at Blackburn". BBC Sport. Retrieved 7 October 2023.
  12. ^ "Academy Duo Given England Call". Middlesbrough F.C. 24 August 2016. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  13. ^ "England U19S held to draw by Dutch but deal shootout win". The FA. 1 September 2016.
  14. ^ Simpson, Ray (21 March 2018). "Aynsley Pears called up for England Under 20s". Darlington. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  15. ^ "Games played by Aynsley Pears in 2016/2017". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  16. ^ "Games played by Aynsley Pears in 2017/2018". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  17. ^ a b "Games played by Aynsley Pears in 2018/2019". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  18. ^ "Games played by Aynsley Pears in 2019/2020". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 August 2019.
  19. ^ "A. Pears: Summary". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  20. ^ "Games played by Aynsley Pears in 2020/2021". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 20 February 2021.
  21. ^ "Games played by Aynsley Pears in 2021/2022". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 18 December 2021.
  22. ^ "Games played by Aynsley Pears in 2022/2023". Soccerbase. Centurycomm. Retrieved 19 March 2023.

External links

Aynsley Pears at Soccerbase

Blackburn Rovers F.C. – current squad
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