Perth Glory academy graduates have gone from the Isuzu UTE A-League to Europe, including Manchester United. Senior academy head coach Joe Heath speaks to aleagues.com.au about the club’s secret and why he is confident about the future.
Daniel Bennie, James Overy and Jaylan Pearman; three talented Australian youngsters playing abroad and they all share one thing in common.
The trio were all part of Perth Glory’s academy setup before being lured to the UK recently. Bennie and Pearman are teammates at EFL Championship outfit QPR, while Overy just signed his first professional contract at global juggernaut Manchester United.
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Bennie went from Glory’s academy to the Isuzu UTE A-League team and his exploits caught the attention of QPR, who signed the talented Aussie for an undisclosed fee in May last year.
This week, the 19-year-old scored his first competitive goal for the English club while young gun Pearman made his competitive bow for QPR after arriving at the end of 2024-25 – a season which saw the teenager honoured with the DT38 Young Player of the Year award for his standout first season in the senior squad.
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CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND – AUGUST 13: Daniel Bennie of Queens Park Rangers is challenged by Zeno Ibsen Rossi of Cambridge United during the Carabao Cup First Round match between Cambridge United and Queens Park Rangers at Cledara Abbey Stadium on August 13, 2024 in Cambridge, England. (Photo by Harriet Lander/Getty Images) " data-medium-file="https://aleagues.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2025/08/GettyImages-2166663010.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://aleagues.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2025/08/GettyImages-2166663010.jpg?w=1024" data-id="323779" src="https://aleagues.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2025/08/GettyImages-2166663010.jpg" alt class="wp-image-323779" srcset="https://aleagues.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2025/08/GettyImages-2166663010.jpg 1024w, https://aleagues.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2025/08/GettyImages-2166663010.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://aleagues.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2025/08/GettyImages-2166663010.jpg?resize=768,512 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px">
Daniel Bennie in action for QPR.
PERTH, AUSTRALIA – MARCH 09: Daniel Bennie of the Glory in action during the A-League Men round 20 match between Perth Glory and Newcastle Jets at HBF Park, on March 09, 2024, in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Paul Kane/Getty Images) " data-medium-file="https://aleagues.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2025/08/GettyImages-2070989962.jpg?w=240" data-large-file="https://aleagues.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2025/08/GettyImages-2070989962.jpg?w=819" data-id="323780" src="https://aleagues.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2025/08/GettyImages-2070989962.jpg" alt class="wp-image-323780" srcset="https://aleagues.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2025/08/GettyImages-2070989962.jpg 819w, https://aleagues.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2025/08/GettyImages-2070989962.jpg?resize=240,300 240w, https://aleagues.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2025/08/GettyImages-2070989962.jpg?resize=768,960 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 819px) 100vw, 819px">
Daniel Bennie while playing for Perth Glory.
As for Overy, the 18-year-old Australia youth international is playing for United’s youth team. A Glory academy product, he left Perth without making a senior international appearance for the A-Leagues team, having caught the eye in a friendly against Premier League outfit West Ham in July 2023.
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All three are making an impact abroad and it highlights a proven pathway at the Glory and a key factor behind the club’s success in this area.
PERTH, AUSTRALIA – APRIL 12: Jaylan Pearman of the Perth Glory celebrates his goal during the round 26 A-League Men match between Perth Glory and Adelaide United at HBF Park, on April 12, 2025, in Perth, Australia. (Photo by James Worsfold/Getty Images) " data-medium-file="https://aleagues.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2025/08/GettyImages-2209895982.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://aleagues.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2025/08/GettyImages-2209895982.jpg?w=1024" data-id="323782" src="https://aleagues.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2025/08/GettyImages-2209895982.jpg" alt class="wp-image-323782" srcset="https://aleagues.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2025/08/GettyImages-2209895982.jpg 1024w, https://aleagues.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2025/08/GettyImages-2209895982.jpg?resize=300,200 300w, https://aleagues.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2025/08/GettyImages-2209895982.jpg?resize=768,512 768w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px">
Jaylan Pearman starred for Perth Glory last season.
Jaylan Pearman playing for QPR.
“It’s important that pathway is identified,” Glory’s academy first team head coach Joe Heath told aleagues.com.au. “Like that communication from ourselves in the senior Academy to the A-League and vice versa, which highlights that there is a pathway here for young lads.
“I think one of the things that does help over here, what the Academy has done for a number of years is we push young talent on really quickly. For instance, our U18s started with a 14-year-old in there this year. So it challenges them young and hopefully brings them on quicker.
“I think that may be one of the factors why lads do so well and go abroad because they are facing those challenges at a young age.”
PERTH, AUSTRALIA – JULY 15: James Overy of Perth Glory in action during the match between Perth Glory and West Ham United at Optus Stadium on July 15, 2023 in Perth, Australia. (Photo by Will Russell/Getty Images) " data-medium-file="https://aleagues.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2025/08/GettyImages-1545708813-e1755220726618.jpg?w=300" data-large-file="https://aleagues.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2025/08/GettyImages-1545708813-e1755220726618.jpg?w=642" data-id="323785" src="https://aleagues.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2025/08/GettyImages-1545708813-e1755220726618.jpg?w=642" alt class="wp-image-323785" srcset="https://aleagues.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2025/08/GettyImages-1545708813-e1755220726618.jpg 642w, https://aleagues.com.au/wp-content/uploads/sites/17/2025/08/GettyImages-1545708813-e1755220726618.jpg?resize=300,240 300w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 642px) 100vw, 642px">
James Overy playing for Perth Glory.
James Overy training with Manchester United. Source: Manchester United.
Heath added: “From what I’ve seen in in the west, there’s a lot of talent. Then, clearly they are able to compete when they go abroad, because there’s so many of them going across to Europe. They’re clearly at the standard to go over there.
“A lot of clubs in Europe or abroad should be looking at Australian talent. There’s definitely a lot of it over here.”
It forms Glory’s youth strategy – an academy vision aligned from top to bottom as young talent continue to emerge through the ranks in Western Australia.
There is contact dialogue and feedback with Isuzu UTE A-League head coach David Zdrilic.
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“Every morning we are alongside them (coaching staff) with the A-League, just getting a feel for what they’re doing,” said Heath.
“The messages that they’re sending to players and we’ve spoken about a lot of the young lads that they are keeping an eye on.
“At the minute, they actually came down to watch the Perth Soccer Club game (this week). So it is very aligned, and we’re making sure that those principles are being passed down to the younger lads. When they step into the A-League, hopefully it makes that transition a little bit better, little bit easier for them.”
Joe Heath. Image source: Tom McCarthy
Image source: Tom McCarthy
This off-season has already seen two young guns rewarded with scholarship contracts.
Teenage duo Sebastian Despotovski – the son of club legend Bobby – and Oliver Evans penned two-year scholarship contracts and there are more in the pipeline under Heath’s guidance.
Heath took charge of the senior academy team this season, but the Englishman has been at the club for over two years, working with various age groups. He also brings a wealth of experience to Perth after he spent four years in the Manchester United academy as a youngster before playing for Nottingham Forest.
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“Obviously the main thing for the senior Academy is supplying players for the A-League, but at the same time it’s development, but developing players with a winning mentality as well, which hopefully has been more evident this year from where the team’s sitting in the table,” Heath said, with the club’s senior NPL outfit sitting third in NPLM WA.
“Despo, he’s got a lot of quality and that’s why he’s been given his scholarship. There’s another right-back just about to get one as well, Tadiwanashe Kuzamba.
“I fully expect from the talent that we’ve got in our senior Academy for more to come in the future, in the near future. Whether that’s across the next 12 months, but I do see a lot more of them stepping up.”
Outside of the senior NPL team, a number of youngsters are impressing in Glory colours.
At Under-23 level, Glory lead the way by three points ahead of Olympic Kingsway SC; spearheading that team is Cristiano Farfan.
Having made the step up from the U18s this year, he has scored an incredible 24 goals in 19 matches after a four-goal haul last time out. It is a league high with the next best being 17 goals in the competition.
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Image source: Tom McCarthy
“I worked with him in the 18s because I was across that last year and then this year was the first year he stepped up to the U23s,” Heath recalled.
“He’s just got a natural ability to finish. He’s very intelligent with his movement. And he is definitely one that we would possibly look to push into the NPL squad next year, if he comes back in the right shape and warranted, which from his performances this year, he does.
“There’s also a couple more in that age group. Henri Knight has already featured for us in the NPL. There’s a young winger in the U18s Achnaff Sayon. He is really exciting to watch. A quick winger, likes to beat his full-back every time.
“There’s a lot of talent coming through. That’s what I’m saying, I don’t doubt that in the next 12 months or longer, there’ll be, a lot more scholarships being handed out.”
Featured image: Tom McCarthy