Ben Pearson starting to earn his chance at Bournemouth following Preston move

Ben Pearson completed a January move to Bournemouth from fellow Championship side Preston North End and initially had to wait for his chance but in the last week, has shown the quality which the Cherries had noticed.

He played his last game for North End at the beginning of December before he completed his move to the South Coast side just three days before deadline day on a three-and-a-half year deal.

The midfielder was eased into the side, featuring on the bench at first before making back to back starts in the last couple of games, the 2-0 win over Burnley in the FA Cup and then just four days later in the stalemate at the City Ground against Nottingham Forest on Saturday.

He displaced Lewis Cook in the side who has played a vital role for the Cherries at the heart of the midfield and has been putting in a number of strong performances but caretaker boss Jonathan Woodgate has taken the opportunity in the last couple of games to take a look at the new signing.

It has been a tough run for the club in recent times so the opportunity to freshen up the midfield may not come as a surprise to the supporters, as the side look to get back to their early season form having now only won one of their last seven league games.

The arrival of Pearson and the performances he has put in during his first couple of outings will give the Cherries’ faithful a lot confidence that they might be able to find a way to get back to playing how they want to and back working their way up the table.

The Oldham born midfielder came through the ranks at Premier League giants Manchester United, although he failed to make a first team appearance, enduring a loan spell at Barnsley before he completed a permanent move to Deepdale in January 2016 to get his career going.

He has also featured for England at several age groups – all the way from under-16 through to under-20, although you would say he is a long way off making his senior bow for his country.

It didn’t take long for the 26-year-old to become a regular fixture in the side, playing over 30 league matches in all of his four full seasons at the club before his move to the Vitality Stadium earlier this year.

In all, he made 165 appearances for Preston in a six-and-half year stint at the Lancashire club and despite leaving halfway through the season, he was well respected by the club’s supporters.

Bournemouth face a visit from Championship strugglers Rotherham United on Wednesday evening in a game they really need to be winning. Given their poor recent form, you would imagine that Pearson will move back down to the bench having played two games in quick succession.

He certainly does have a strong engine and work rate on him but you would think he would be afforded a rest for this one having had a month without competitive action prior to his Cherries’ debut at Burnley last week.

His tenacious nature was proved in the 2018-19 season when he picked up 14 bookings and was dismissed three times as discipline really became a problem for him at North End. As a result his Mum decided to stop watching him play at the time due to his ill-discipline.

This is all now firmly behind the former Manchester United man and he is now finding his feet in a Bournemouth shirt and ready to make a mark as he looks to get the Cherries back in the Premier League following relegation last season on the final day.

Prost International’s Tom Mason will be at the Vitality Stadium on Wednesday evening as the Cherries look to return to winning ways with the visit of struggling Rotherham United who are only out of the drop zone by one point.