Aynsley Pears

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

Early life Pears is the son of former Middlesbrough goalkeeper Stephen Pears. He would make a total of 16 appearances for the National League North side, keeping 5 clean sheets in his first 9 games.

On 27 July 2018, Pears joined Gateshead on a season-long loan. 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.

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. 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.

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.

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.

On 12 April 2025, Pears sustained a late ankle injury ahead of a 1–0 win over Luton Town, which resulted in him being dropped to the bench in favour of Balázs Tóth. On 4 November, Pears made his first appearance since the injury after coming on as a late substitute for Tóth, keeping a clean sheet in a 1–0 win over Bristol City.

On 26 December 2025, Pears made his 100th appearance for Rovers against his former club Middlesbrough in a 0–0 draw.

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.

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. 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.

Career statistics