Matty James’ time at Preston may have been a long, long time ago now, but he certainly made an impact at Deepdale.
Signed on loan in February 2010 following the appointment of Darren Ferguson, James arrived from Manchester United as something of a favour from Darren’s old man Sir Alex.
James was only 18 at the time, but scored inside the first 10 minutes of his debut against Sheffield United with a deflected strike.
James really impressed, even scoring a thunderbolt against Nottingham Forest too. When his loan ended, Preston renewed it for the 2010-11 season.
Sadly, James picked up an injury against Burnley just a month into the season, and with Sir Alex spitting his dummy out and taking his loan players back from United once Darren was sacked, James was back off to United.
James has been one of those players that you admire from afar having seen him show early promise with North End; he won the Championship with Leicester in 2014, and managed over 40 Premier League outings for the Foxes.
After starring on loan at Barnsley and Coventry City, James is now back in the Championship permanently having signed for Bristol City.
James reunites with his former Leicester boss Nigel Pearson, signing a three-year deal after Leicester chose not to give him a new deal.
Now 29, James will have the chance to face Preston on September 11th and January 29th, with the latter coming at Deepdale.