Dominant centre back who has captained the Royals on many occasions, and is a product of the successful Reading FC Academy.

He was first spotted by our scouts while with his hometown club Oxford at the age of 12, and worked he was upwards to sign his first professional deal in late 2006.

A strong, brave defender, he made his Royals debut in an FA Cup win over Burnley in January 2007, and quickly got to grips with the physical presence of Adi Akinbiyi in an impressive appearance.

He joined Northampton on loan soon after, and notched his first professional goal while at Sixfields, and subsequently played for both Bournemouth and Norwich on loan.

He played a number of games in our first team in the early part of 2008/9, then gained more experience when he moved to Southampton on loan.

In 2009/10 he played 26 games, and wore the captain's armband for the first time, as well as notching four goals - whilst the following campaign saw him contribute whole heartedly in our charge to the play-offs.

After having to remain patient behind the likes of Matt Mills and Zurab Khizanishvili during the club's run to the playoff final in 2010/11, Pearce started the following campaign as Reading's first choice centre half - and never looked back.

Formed a solid partnership with the experienced Kaspars Gorkss, and showed a keen eye for goal towards the end of the calendar year - all of which contributed to Alex being named the Championship Player of the Month for December.

Although born in England, he has been rewarded with Scottish under 21 call-ups.