Preston North End completed their fifth signing of the summer this weekend. Liverpool striker Layton Stewart joined on a three-year-deal for an undisclosed fee.
He’s the second Liverpool player to join the Preston ranks, after Calvin Ramsay joined on loan as well. Stewart hasn’t had much first-team exposure with the 20-year-old only playing 66 minutes in a Carabao Cup game last season. He arrives with glowing reports from Liverpool, and they have included a buy-back clause in the deal, so are obviously keen to keep a close eye on him.
It boosts the striking department at a key time for Preston. Until the arrival of Stewart they were heading into the start of the new Championship season, with just one fit striker in the squad. Will Keane is another summer addition, and Emil Riis and Ched Evans are still recovering from long-term injuries.
It could mean Stewart is handed a few starts early on, and it’s a great opportunity for him to show the club and the fans that he is ready for Championship football.
Stewart is not the first striker to make the move from Anfield to Deepdale. In 2006 Neil Mellor joined Preston under Paul Simpson. Mellor was 23 at the time and unlike Stewart, he had played quite a few times for Liverpool as well as two loan spells at West Ham United and Wigan Athletic.
Mellor’s time at North End was disrupted by injuries but he still went on to score 43 goals in 150 appearances. He looks back fondly at his time at the club, and regularly comments on us on his social media accounts. He praised the recent appointment of Rob Kelly as coach as a great addition for the club and has now taken to Twitter to speak about Layton Stewart.
The former striker who now works for Sky Sports as a pundit commented saying Stewart is going to ‘a fantastic club’ and Preston have got a strike who loves to score goals. I’m sure they all do though, but his comments relate to an impressive scoring record at youth level, including 11 goals in the PL2 last season.
It’s a great opportunity for Stewart to find his feet in senior football. Another Liverpudlian did exactly that last season, and Tom Cannon could well be a teammate of Stewart’s if Preston can manage to get a deal over the line for the Everton striker.
Cannon was spotted at the Aberdeen game on Saturday, which is an encouraging sign, and the return of the former loan star would certainly whet the appetite ahead of the new season.