Preston have signed Alvaro Fernandez on loan from Manchester United – and Ryan Lowe is backing him for big things at Old Trafford.
Lowe wanted two left wing backs signed this summer.
The North End boss allowed Josh Earl to leave for Fleetwood Town before confirming that Greg Cunningham would be viewed as a left-sided centre back moving forward.
Robbie Brady came in as one left wing back, arriving on a free transfer from Bournemouth before North End struck with another deal today.
SAKA, ANTONY AND 10 PREMIER LEAGUE STARS HEADING TO THEIR FIRST WORLD CUP
Manchester United talent Fernandez is in, arriving on a season-long loan deal from the Red Devils.
The 19-year-old – formerly of Real Madrid – is considered to be one of United’s most exciting talents and won their Under-23 Player of the Year award last season.
A tall and rangy wing back with real attacking ability, Fernandez looks to be exactly what North End are seeking.
Fernandez now follows in the footsteps of David Beckham, David Jones, Danny Welbeck, Ritchie De Laet, Josh King, Matty James and Sam Johnstone in joining Preston on loan from United.
Beckham is the only one who really became a star out of that crop, but others certainly carved out strong careers.
In the case of Fernandez, Preston boss Lowe is already expecting to see him shine when he returns to United – before even kicking a ball for North End!
Lowe told North End’s official website that he believes Fernandez is going to become a ‘fantastic’ player for United in the future.
Lowe is of course focusing on Fernandez making an impact for Preston but he is predicting a long and fruitful career at the top level for the Spaniard.
Preston boss Lowe added that new chief scout James Wallace played a key role in identifying Fernandez as a possible signing, seemingly believing that North End have landed a real gem.
“Álvaro’s one we’ve monitored and one who was brought to our attention through our chief scout James Wallace who’s watched him numerous times.
“Once we’d watched him a little bit more we felt he could do a job for us down that side as a left wing back.
“He’ll challenge Robbie [Brady] to start. Robbie’s got the quality in his left foot of picking passes out, and Álvaro’s got different types of qualities in that he gets at people and he can get past them with high energy.
“He’s a fantastic asset to us. He’s going to be a fantastic football player for Manchester United, but we need Álvaro to help us in our Championship campaign for us to help him to hopefully one day make his Premier League debut for Manchester United.”