Preston North End have snapped up Liverpool striker Layton Stewart and he has received a message from Sepp van den Berg.
PNE announced a real rarity over the weekend – a signing on a Saturday!
It’s not often we see that happening and it takes us back to the days of Brian Stock arriving mere hours before facing Millwall back in 2006.
Striker Stewart was the man PNE signed this time though, securing a permanent deal for the Liverpool talent.
The 20-year-old has penned a three-year deal with PNE and Liverpool are understood to have a buy-back clause in the transfer.
Stewart has been highly-regarded in the Liverpool ranks although a major knee injury in 2021 set him back.
Now ready to kick on away from Anfield, Stewart has added to the PNE striking ranks and immediately made his debut.
Stewart was brought off the bench in PNE’s 2-0 home win over Aberdeen on Saturday afternoon.
This was just a cameo for North End’s latest signing and we can expect to see more from him soon enough.
Stewart has taken to Instagram to celebrate his move, admitting that he is ‘delighted’ to start this next chapter.
A number of Liverpool players wished Stewart the best of luck at Deepdale, and there was even a message from Sepp van den Berg.
The Dutchman spent 18 months on loan at Deepdale between February 2021 and the summer of 2022.
Stewart and Van de Berg know each other from the Liverpool ranks and have actually played together on a handful of occasions.
Van den Berg told Stewart ‘you will enjoy it there’, confident that he will love PNE as much as the Dutchman did in his loan spell.
If Stewart can become a fan favourite just like Van den Berg did, he will have been a big success at Deepdale.