Striker Tom Cannon has today said goodbye to Preston North End as he prepares to head back to Everton.
It doesn’t feel like five minutes since we were talking about Cannon’s arrival at Deepdale.
PNE pounced to sign Cannon on loan in January, providing a welcome boost to Ryan Lowe’s striking options.
This was Cannon’s first loan spell away from Everton and big things were expected after superb form in their Under-21’s.
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Seven goals in 11 Premier League 2 games this season sparked major interest and PNE managed to win the race.
It took Cannon a little while to get going; the 20-year-old went seven league games without a goal to start his North End career.
Yet once Cannon scored the winner against Wigan Athletic in February, he couldn’t really be stopped.
Cannon scored eight times in his last 13 appearances for North End, including a fine goal against bitter rivals Blackpool.
Sunday saw Cannon make his final appearance for PNE as the season ended with a 3-0 home defeat to Sunderland.
Cannon has now taken to Twitter to send a goodbye message to North End and the PNE fanbase.
Cannon offered up a ‘massive thank you’ to everyone at PNE, admitting that his time at the club has been a ‘pleasure’ throughout.
North End would surely love to take Cannon on loan for the whole of next season too.
However, this feels eerily similar to Cameron Archer’s time at North End last season.
Both strikers become fan favourites at Deepdale after scoring regularly, including key goals against Blackpool.
Yet with Archer – and now Cannon – shining in the Championship, other clubs became interested.
PNE missed out on Archer and could now do the same with Cannon amid rising interest.
We can only hope that this wasn’t the real end for Cannon and that he is back in a PNE shirt next season – but we face a nervous wait on that front.