Preston have today farmed out youngster Adam O’Reilly, sending him to Irish side Waterford until the 30th of June.
O’Reilly, 19, has long been backed for a bright future with North End having arrived from Ringmahon Rangers back in 2016.
Comparisons have been made with Alan Browne; both hail from Cork, both emerged with Ringmahon Rangers and both are midfielders by trade.
SAKA, ANTONY AND 10 PREMIER LEAGUE STARS HEADING TO THEIR FIRST WORLD CUP
O’Reilly hasn’t quite had the breakthrough Browne enjoyed though, making just one first-team appearance for North End so far.
Loan spells with Hyde United and Stalybridge Celtic haven’t really pushed him any closer to first-team action, though he has been on the bench at times this season.
MORE PRESTON STORIES
Now, O’Reilly has returned to Ireland with Waterford, meaning he should play plenty of first-team action in the League of Ireland over the coming four months.
Waterford finished fifth in the League of Ireland last season, and he has now been hailed by Irish legend Kevin Sheedy.
A cult hero at Everton and with the Irish national team, Sheedy is now in charge of Waterford, and O’Reilly can surely learn plenty from him.
Sheedy has now been quoted by The Irish Independent as saying that he thinks O’Reilly is a ‘great addition’, and predicted that he will stand out in the coming weeks – which North End will certainly hope for having allowed O’Reilly to go.
“Adam is a great addition to the team already in place,” said Sheedy. “We’re delighted to have him here and I think he’ll be someone that stands out over the coming weeks,” he added.