Ryan Lowe has hailed Jacob Slater after the Preston teenager made another first-team appearance against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
North End made the trip to Molineux on Tuesday night with dreams of dumping Wolves out of the Carabao Cup.
That isn’t quite how it worked out though as Wolves took a 2-0 lead in the first half through Raul Jimenez and Adama Traore.
Hwang Hee-chan could have made it 3-0 but his penalty was saved by Dai Cornell.
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Preston did get back into the game thanks to Ben Woodburn’s strike, but it wasn’t enough to force a penalty shootout.
Ryan Lowe has hailed Jacob Slater
North End boss Ryan Lowe will love what he saw from his players in the second half, giving the Premier League side a real game.
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It was another positive night for Preston’s youth ranks too.
We have already covered 16-year-old Kaedyn Kamara’s inclusion in the trip to Molineux, just months after arriving from Burnley.
There were also places on the bench for teenagers Lewis Leigh and Jacob Slater, with both coming on late in the game.
Lowe brought both players on in the previous round against Huddersfield and did so again as Preston chased an equaliser at Wolves.
Lowe spoke incredibly highly of Slater after the game, telling iFollow that he thinks the 17-year-old is a ‘phenomenal’ player.
The Preston manager added that he thinks Slater can play comfortably as a left-sided centre back or left wing back, believing that he can become a ‘fantastic’ player for North End,
“Jacob Slater is a phenomenal player,” said Lowe. “Left-sided player, he can play left wing back, left centre half, he’s got all the attributes to be a fantastic player,” he added.
Slater has been with Preston since Under-12 level and appears to have similar versatility to Josh Earl in that he started as a winger but has been used in more defensive roles.
It’s early days for Slater but with Greg Cunningham’s contract ending next summer, Preston will be thinking about the future – and Slater’s versatility will put him in the mix for Lowe.