Preston signed Andre Green to be Callum Robinson’s replacement in August; it really hasn’t gone to plan so far.
North End lost Robinson to Sheffield United for £8million, but chose not to splash the cash on a replacement. Instead, in came Green – a player with a similar trajectory to Robinson.
Both player came up through the Aston Villa ranks, before heading to Deepdale on loan. Robinson had two great loan spells with North End, earned himself a move to Preston in 2016, and developed to become one of Alex Neil’s most important players.
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He was always going to be difficult to replace, but going for Green – a player Robinson himself knows – seemed like a smart move. Green had featured in Villa’s promotion-winning campaign last season, and featured prominently on the left wing; Robinson’s position at Deepdale.
A loan deal seemed to be a good start, giving Green a chance to settle in at Deepdale and give everybody a chance to see whether a long-term deal would be on the horizon.
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Right now, that seems almost unfathomable. Green has yet to start a Championship game for North End, and has just four substitute appearances to his name, totalling only 87 minutes. Green’s two starts have come in the Carabao Cup, and he did actually score against Bradford City in August.
Green is even struggling to make the bench. Aston Villa won’t be too happy with his spell so far, as he isn’t developing nor putting himself in the shop window, whilst North End will also feel they haven’t got much out of the loan deal so far.
Now, Neil has told the LEP that there have been two issues for the 21-year-old. The first is that Preston have been in such good form, that it’s difficult to break into the side. Seani Maguire and Tom Barkhuizen have enjoyed strong seasons out wide, whilst Billy Bodin and Brad Potts are also available.
Of course, some players have broken in and made an impact, such as Jayden Stockley and Joe Rafferty, and those are players that Green needs to look to. Neil added that Green has been suffering an issue with his toe, keeping him out of action. Now, it’s up to Green to come back, try and make an impact to show he’s worth a permanent move.
“Andre is in a position which a lot of the other lads who are not really featuring, are in,” said Neil. “Who do you take out of the team to put him in? At the moment Andre has got a problem with his big toe. He’s got arthritis which means he’d had a few injections in it, so at the moment he’s not currently fit. However, that’s only been for the last couple of weeks,” he added.