Just over 24 hours into the January transfer window, one player has already left Preston North End.
Preston have this morning confirmed the end of Andre Green’s time at Deepdale, terminating his loan deal. The Aston Villa man already has a new club though, as he has joined Championship rivals Charlton Athletic for the rest of the season.
21-year-old wide man Green was signed as Callum Robinson’s replacement, but it just hasn’t worked out. Coming from the Aston Villa ranks and predominantly playing as a left winger cutting in on his right foot, the parallels to Robinson were easy to see.
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Green wasn’t able to replace Robinson though, with playing time hard to come by. He has played just four Championship games, all as a substitute. With just one minute of playing time since the end of August and his only two starts coming in the Carabao Cup in August, Green quickly become a forgotten man at Deepdale.
Moving on to Charlton may see him get the playing time he needs, but Preston can’t just sit back and feel getting Green off the books is the end of the matter.
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Part of North End’s struggles in attack is down to the wingers. In the last 10 games, Preston have scored just five goals. Seven blanks in that run have resulted in six defeats, and with two home blanks in a row, there are real problems in front of goal.
Three players predominantly play out wide for North End; Seani Maguire on the left, then Tom Barkhuizen and Billy Bodin rotating on the right. Their records of late have been dismal though, with Maguire scoring once in his last 18 games, whilst Barkhuizen and Bodin are goalless in 12 and 10 games respectively.
This lack of productivity out wide can’t continue. It’s clear Preston are missing Robinson, and letting his ‘replacement’ go after playing just a minute in the last four months should spark North End into life.
Fans want a striker signed this month, but another winger should be just as important. We’re lacking pace, guile, creativity and goals out wide, and with adjudged to be lacking the quality needed, it’s imperative that somebody who can finally replace Robinson is signed this month to help solve Preston’s attacking woes.