Preston announce double loan signing as squad begins to take shape

Championship side Preston North End have announced two new loan signings this week as they approach the season opener against Wigan Athletic on Saturday.

Troy Parrott and Álvaro Fernández signed on the dotted line to one-year loan spells at the Lancashire club, providing much-needed depth in the North End ranks.

After releasing 14 players in the summer as well as officially transfer listing at least three first-team players, North End had a serious rebuild job this summer.

But whilst needing to recruit wisely, the club have stated multiple times that they wouldn’t sign anyone for the sake of it and it was very much quality over quantity this summer.

And although business hasn’t happened as early as manager Ryan Lowe and the fanbase would’ve liked, patience is certainly paying dividends now.

On Monday, it was announced that Troy Parrott would arrive from Tottenham Hotspur, joining numerous Ireland internationals in the ranks at Deepdale.

Parrott links up with Irish teammates, Alan Browne, Sean Maguire and Robbie Brady whilst also potentially seeing another teammate in Callum Robinson joining later in the window as he is heavily linked with a return to his former club this summer.

The forward spent last year on loan at MK Dons, where despite not having the most overwhelming goal record, his contribution to the side who narrowly missed out in the play-offs was second to none, improving drastically since dropping deeper in his striker role and linking-up play brilliantly.

But North End weren’t done there. It’s expected that up to four deals could potentially be done before the window is out, with another striker and a right-wing back still high on the priority list.

And the Lilywhites boxed off one of their missing pieces of the jigsaw at left wing-back as Tuesday saw the arrival of Álvaro Fernández, on loan from Manchester United.

A very highly rated prospect, Fernández, 19, won United U23’s player of the year last campaign and was set to be involved in and around the first-team this season but for the arrival of left back Tyrell Malacia which meant his minutes would’ve been cut even more.

That in itself makes the move make even more sense after North End drastically needed another recruit on that left hand-side.

North End struggled in the wing-back areas last season, a position Ryan Lowe relies heavily on in his preferred 3-5-2 system. With Josh Earl and Greg Cunningham sharing the duties last campaign, Lowe made is clear that he needed improvement in that area, and he’s got just that.

With Fernández competing with fellow summer signing Robbie Brady who signed on a free earlier in the window following his release from AFC Bournemouth, North End have real quality on that left-hand side and will cause many Championship right backs some headaches.

With some impressive business over the past few days, it has to be said that North End are arguably just a couple of signings away from possessing a squad that could seriously challenge for those play-off spots.

With some shrewd business such as the permanent acquisitions of Freddie Woodman, Ben Woodburn, Robbie Brady and now the two impressive loan deals, another striker and a right wing-back could see North End get off to a flying start.

With a fixture list that’s considered by many of the North End faithful as a ‘generous start’, said with a lot of caution, it may well be a season North End have to ‘go all out’ as they have fallen short of the desired Championship play-offs for a number of years now.

But, with a fresh connection with the fan base, some refreshing and exciting recruitment and a first full season under Ryan Lowe, who knows where the Lilywhites could end up come May 2023.

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