Preston have appointed Ryan Lowe as their new manager – and he already has a seal of approval from Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp.
North End parted ways with Frankie McAvoy on Monday night. Less than 24 hours later, Preston had found his replacement.
Lowe has left Plymouth Argyle for North End in a deal believed to be worth around £250,000.
The 43-year-old has already spoken with great positivity, bringing a fresh new energy to Preston.
Having won two promotions from League Two, Lowe has enjoyed success in his career so far.
Lowe’s style of play is attractive, attacking football – and that has impressed Liverpool boss Klopp.
Lowe took on Klopp in 2018. Bury hosted Liverpool in a pre-season friendly and played out a 0-0 draw at Gigg Lane.
Speaking to The Athletic, Lowe opened up on what Klopp said to him after that game.
Klopp praised Lowe’s ‘very good’ style of play, praising Bury for being well-drilled with three at the back.
Klopp noted that Bury would go up if Lowe kept that style of play – and he was right.
That praise from Klopp meant Lowe persisted with his 3-5-2 system, which won him promotion with Bury and Plymouth.
“We sat down and discussed football,” said Lowe. “He was very complimentary; really praised how we had played. The game had finished 0-0 and he said, ‘Very good football. You are well drilled and I like how you play three at the back and stepping in’. Jurgen also asked if I thought we’d be up the top end of our league. I said, ‘I hope so’, to which he replied, ‘If you play that style, you will be fine’. Up to then, I had been tinkering with the formation and a few other things.”
“But, after Jurgen said what he did, I was committed to sticking with 3-5-2 going forward. You’d be mad not to listen when someone like Jurgen Klopp says something like that,” he added.
Given that Sepp van den Berg is already on loan at Preston, maybe Lowe’s arrival will convince Klopp and co to send other Liverpool players to Deepdale.