Jayson Molumby adds energy to freshen up Preston North End midfield

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Going into this helter-skelter of a season, the biggest concern among Preston fans was the future of the so-called ‘Big Five’.

Poor squad management led to key players Alan Browne, Daniel Johnson, Ben Pearson, Ben Davies and Darnell Fisher having only one year left on their contracts and the possibility of losing all of them on free transfers.

Fast forward a few months and the futures of these players has been resolved, even if it has not been an ideal resolution. Fisher has joined Middlesbrough in a move that in league position terms, is a bit of a sideways transfer.

The injury situation at Liverpool led to Davies landing himself a dream move to Anfield while fan favourite Pearson made the switch to the south coast, joining Bournemouth.

Helpfully, Browne and Johnson have signed new contracts, committing themselves to the Lancashire club for the next three and a half and two and a half years respectively.

All of this led to some business needing to be done in January. Davies was replaced by Liam Lindsay who’s come in on loan from Stoke while Ben Whiteman was signed from Doncaster to replace the outgoing Pearson.

The club opted against signing a new right-back to replace Fisher and Alex Neil is now playing Browne in a more unfamiliar full-back position, which left a place to be filled in midfield and with that in came Jayson Molumby.

The young man from County Waterford in Ireland signed a new contract at Brighton earlier this year and is clearly highly regarded by those at the Premier League club. He stayed at the club for the first few months of the season, making some League Cup appearances before making his league debut in a victory over Aston Villa.

In January it was decided that another loan move would be more beneficial and Preston came calling. Molumby already has a season in the Championship under his belt after playing 36 times for Millwall last season.

The midfielder also has international experience having been capped five times by the Republic of Ireland and previously been captain of the under 21’s. All of this meant it was a no brainer on Preston’s part with it being easy to throw the loanee straight into the action at Deepdale.

Energy and tenacity are two of his biggest strengths and he brings that in abundance to the North End midfield.

He impressed against Watford on Tuesday night even though Preston struggled to impose themselves on the game. Molumby was at it straight from kick-off, getting up to support the press to try and deny Will Hughes from getting on the ball. This wasn’t always a success and Hughes was excellent on the night, dictating from deep.

The 21-year-old was busy all over the park, helping to tidy up at the base of midfield and snapping into tackles to disrupt Watford’s flow.

The young man was like a Duracell bunny, flying all over the pitch, even if sometimes he was a bit too enthusiastic. He got forward too quickly to support an attack and took a heavy first touch and sent the ball out for a goal kick.

To label the Irishman as a midfield destroyer would be diminishing his other skills as he shows a calmness on the ball and an eye for a pass. If he could add a goal threat he would probably be looking at a place in Brighton’s eleven as opposed to the Championship.

The match got a lot more scrappy and fragmented in the second-half with both teams struggling to impose themselves on the game. Joao Pedro’s penalty was a bitter blow for the Lilywhites who battled well and did their best to get back on terms but lacked that bit of quality in the final third.

The Irishman kept going right to the final whistle, driving through the midfield as stoppage time loomed as if he’d just come on fresh as a substitute. His pass in behind helped turn the Watford defence and give Preston a foothold deep in the Hornet’s half.

In Molumby and Whiteman, Preston have a lovely balance in midfield. Whiteman is a classy operator with the ball and Molumby can put in the hard yards getting from box to box. If Neil can get Daniel Johnson back to his best or find another way to get some attacking output from midfield, Preston should have a decent end to the campaign.

For the Brighton loanee, this is a chance to build on his excellent season with Millwall and show Preston fans why he was revered in South-East London. Maybe more importantly, it’s another opportunity to impress Graham Potter and force his way into the Brighton manager’s plans for next season.

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