A bright light has pierced through the gloom that has enveloped Perth Glory’s 2024-25 Isuzu UTE A-League season, and it’s been cast by the club’s 19-year-old attacking talent and Young Socceroo Jaylan Pearman.
Unsighted through the first 12 rounds of the season, Pearman was thrust into head coach David Zdrilic’s starting lineup for his league debut at the turn of the New Year.
His performances since, for the Isuzu UTE A-League’s bottom-placed side, have provided a rare source of joy to Glory fans, who affectionately refer to the teenage talent as the “Prince of Perth” due to his sparkling form through his debut campaign.
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It’s a nickname Pearman is still getting used to as his first – and potentially last – season in the Isuzu UTE A-League nears its conclusion.
“The first I heard it (the nickname) was after the Auckland game,” Pearman told Network 10 after a 4-1 win over Adelaide United in mid-April.
“Everyone’s been calling me (that) at training. It’s a nice feeling.
“Obviously (it’s not been) the season we would’ve preferred but to have my breakout season here, with the home fans, my hometown club, and just to give back to them in the last home game of the season, it’s an unbelievable feeling and they deserve it.”
Each of Pearman’s 10 appearances this season have been as a starter, with his best performance of the season to date coming in Perth’s last hitout – a shock 4-1 thumping of finals hopefuls Adelaide United, in which the 19-year-old notched two goals and one assist in the club’s final home game of the season.
Strongly linked with a move to English Championship side Queens Park Rangers in the off-season, Glory fans have likely seen the last of their highly-talented teenager on home soil before the move abroad – but with two away games left to play before the end of the campaign, they’ll hope Pearman can produce a few more moments of magic to help lift the club off the foot of the table and avoid a second-consecutive wooden spoon.
“He’s a great kid. He has come a long way this season,” said Zdrilic, after witnessing Pearman lead his side to a resounding win over the Reds in mid-April.
“He was playing NPL at the start of the season and was sometimes getting pushed off the ball. His quality was always there but the strength (has improved).
“He has come into the team and straight away looked at home. But now every game, he seems like he’s taking it to another level.
“Don’t forget I’m putting him as a number 10 or a striker next to Taggs (Socceroo Adam Taggart), or I put him on the left. He’s playing different roles, and he’s actually scored the goals from the left.
“He’s very versatile, a great kid, and I’m just happy for him.”
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The 2024-25 Isuzu UTE A-League season has been one of emergence for young Australian talent. One look at the Golden Boot leaderboard tells the story; the top four players leading the way in goalscoring (Adrian Segecic, Archie Goodwin, Nicolas Milanovic and Noah Botic) have an average age of just 21.5.
But beneath the young quartet scoring goals for fun in the Isuzu UTE A-League sits a cohort of teenage attackers imposing themselves on the competition, and Pearman has been the standout performer of the rising stars of the league yet to hit their twenties.
Since his debut, Pearman has scored the equal-most goals (four) of any teenager in the competition, along with Melbourne City academy star Max Caputo. Pearman has taken just 11 shots to score his four goals compared to Caputo’s 22.
In the same timeframe, Pearman has assisted three goals – more than any other teenager in the league, and created the most chances (18) among his fellow teens. City midfielder Lawrence Wong has created 16, ahead of 16-year-old Central Coast Mariner Haine Eames with 10.
Pearman’s combined goals and assists tally of seven is the highest among the Isuzu UTE A-League teens since the start of 2025.
Goals + assists in 2025 (Teenage Isuzu UTE A-League players)
- Jaylan Pearman, Perth Glory: 7
- Max Caputo, Melbourne City: 5
- Haine Eames, Central Coast Mariners: 3
- Jacob Brazete, Brisbane Roar: 3
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But it’s not only Pearman’s end product that has made the Glory youngster such a standout performer since his league debut; he’s also proved himself as a damaging dribbler, and a key link in Glory’s build-up play in the final third.
Only Brisbane Roar’s Jacob Brazete and Western United’s Luke Vickery have attempted more dribbles than Pearman in 2025, while the Glory forward’s 41 passes into the box (including crosses) and 93 successful passes ending in the final third are more than any other teenager in the same timeframe.
Pearman’s 10 appearances for Perth have been split on either side of a month-long absence in February.
Selected in the Young Socceroos’ Under-23 Asian Cup squad, Pearman appeared in all five of Australia’s fixtures at the tournament and scored the sealing goal in a 2-0 semi-final win over Japan en route to an historic win over Saudi Arabia in the final as the Young Socceroos became Champions of Asia.
When assessing his brilliant first season in Perth, Pearman credited the mid-season trip to China for the Under-23 Asian Cup as one of the two key factors in his rapid development from academy prospect to bona fide Glory star.
“Considering we won the Asian Cup it’s given me a lot of confidence coming back,” he said.
“That winning mentality, bringing it into the group. A lot of confidence (has been) instilled in me, it’s been good.”
The other key facet to Pearman’s development this season has been his close playing relationship with Socceroo and Perth Glory captain Adam Taggart.
The reigning Isuzu UTE A-League Golden Boot leader has led the line valiantly in a struggling Glory outfit this season, scoring eight goals in 23 games. Since Pearman’s injection into the Glory starting XI, the 19-year-old has been used as a foil to Taggart in Glory’s attack and, whether deployed as a number 10 or as a second striker, his presence in the final third has helped Taggart become more of a threat himself.
Both Pearman and Taggart found the back of the net in Glory’s last league fixture to lift the struggling WA outfit to a memorable victory over Adelaide – after which, Pearman described the experienced Socceroo as a mentor whose “critical” feedback has been pivotal to his development at the club.
“Over the weeks since my debut, Taggs has always been helping me,” Pearman said. “Every single thing I can work on, he’s helping and telling me what to do.
“He can be critical at times, but obviously he’s always helping me. He’s an unreal mentor, and I’ve loved working with him.”
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With two games left to play this season, Pearman will be intent on building off his brilliant performance against Adelaide to wrap up what, according to strong reports, will be his final season in the West before a move to QPR.
Pearman first signed a scholarship contract with the Perth Glory first team in July, 2023; he was signed on the same day fellow teenager Daniel Bennie put pen to paper on a scholarship contract of his own.
Bennie moved to QPR in the off-season leading into 2024-25, and now, it appears Pearman is set to join his fellow Perth Glory academy product at the English Championship club.
When asked by former Glory captain Jacob Burns about the links to QPR, and the potential reunion with Bennie in England, Pearman all-but confirmed the imminent move while expressing his gratitude that a familiar face will be waiting for him as he begins his European journey.
“Moving to the other side of the world without your family, it’ll be hard,” Pearman said.
“But to have a close friend over there helping me along the way, it’s always helpful.”
Pearman and Glory are next in action on Sunday, April 27 as they take on league-leaders Auckland FC at Go Media Stadium.
Currently locked level on 14 points with 12th-placed Brisbane Roar, Glory must collect more points than Brisbane in their final two games of the season to avoid a second-consecutive wooden spoon.
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