Yesterday, Brandon Barker said goodbye to Preston as his Manchester City loan move came to an end. Now, it’s Lukas Nmecha’s turn to bid farewell to Deepdale.
Highly-rated at City, Nmecha’s loan move to North End was seen as a huge coup. Beating a host of Championship clubs to his signature, Preston had landed one of City’s brightest young talents.
The 20-year-old had been playing development football with City, but was around Pep Guardiola’s first team last season. Even in a Carabao Cup penalty shoot-out with Leicester City last season, Nmecha had the confidence to step up and score.
Now, City wanted Nmecha out and playing first-team football. That’s certainly happened with North End, playing 44 games in all competitions. He’s notched four goals and five assists in a Preston shirt, and really improved in 2019.
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His spell maybe wasn’t full of goals, and he looked better out wide than up front. Yet most fans would accept that Nmecha is a huge talent, and he will only get better.
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Now, Nmecha’s time at Deepdale is up. His loan is over, he’s heading back to Manchester City. Nmecha posted a message last night saying goodbye, noting that it’s been a season of learning for him. After all, he had to play in a team which has gone through so many ups and downs this season.
Nmecha is back at it again today, posting a photo of himself in his final Preston game with a love heart emoji. If this really is the end, we’ll remember his superb assists at Blackburn and Nottingham Forest, as well as his recent brace against Ipswich.
It would be a shock if North End didn’t want Nmecha back though. Therefore, it’s unsurprising that fans responded to Nmecha by begging him to return next season. Some urged him to sign, and give it one more season of development at Deepdale.
Let’s hope that’s the case, as whilst Barker won’t be coming back, another season of Nmecha – with a year of Championship experience under his belt – could be a major asset.
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