Preston are facing a major blow as Aston Villa could send Cameron Archer out on loan, with a move to Watford now seemingly on the cards.
North End took Archer on loan back in January and few could have really seen him capturing the hearts of Preston fans quite as he did.
Archer scored on his debut against West Bromwich Albion and just never looked back, finishing his loan spell with seven goals in 20 games.
The derby day winner against Blackpool was the high point for Archer, who returned to Villa for pre-season with Preston still keen on a return.
Ryan Lowe’s friendship with Steven Gerrard certainly helped make the deal happen in January, and fans have held out hope of their relationship paying dividends again.
Peter Ridsdale indicated that Preston would match any Championship offer for Archer, but North End are set to miss out.
Gerrard has indicated that Archer may not be involved at all in Villa’s EFL Cup clash with Bolton Wanderers this week, hinting that a loan move is in the pipeline.
Watford are thought to be the most likely destination for Archer, following fellow Villa striker Keinan Davis to Vicarage Road.
The Athletic claim that Watford are back in for Archer just as they have agreed to sell winger Ismaila Sarr to – you guessed it – Villa.
Seeing Archer go back and feature for Villa would have been great for Preston fans as that development at Deepdale would have resulted in Premier League minutes.
Yet seeing Archer join a Championship rival really hurts, especially having aided his progress so well earlier this year.
North End are missing Archer’s clinical edge in the final third and fans have been begging for his return after just one goal in five Championship games this term.
The one positive is that at least we won’t have to see Archer return to Deepdale this season, given that North End hosted Watford on Saturday.
Maybe Gerrard at least delayed the move to Watford until Lowe and Preston got Saturday’s game out of the way!
With Archer now off the table once and for all, Preston must now go and find another goalscorer to come in and bolster Lowe’s front line.