Preston North End target Dan Gore made his Premier League debut for Manchester United on Boxing Day, appearing against Aston Villa.
PNE enjoyed a great Boxing Day, beating Leeds United 2-1 at Deepdale.
Ryan Lowe needed a result after three wins in 16, and his players stepped up with a big performance against the promotion-chasing Whites.
That result will have been enjoyed by Manchester United fans given the rivalry between the two clubs.
United were given an ideal Boxing Day as just hours after seeing Leeds lose, they produced a rousing comeback to beat Aston Villa 3-2.
Dan Gore features in Manchester United amid Preston North End interest
United went 2-0 down before turning the game on its head and seeing the game out with a couple of youngsters coming off the bench.
Midfielder Dan Gore was one of them, making his Premier League appearance just days after links with a move to PNE emerged.
Reports last week suggested that North End have expressed an interest in signing Gore on loan for the second half of the season.
PNE have decent links with United after Alvaro Fernandez’s impressive loan spell at Deepdale last season, so that could aid a Gore pursuit.
Gore was brought on in injury time to replace Alejandro Garnacho against Villa and United have celebrated his Premier League debut on their official website.
The 19-year-old made an EFL Cup appearance in September and has now received another first-team chance under Erik ten Hag.
It’s pretty clear that Gore is highly rated at United; being trusted in a pressurised situation against Villa last night sums that up.
That makes PNE’s attempts to sign him a little trickier, especially with the Africa Cup of Nations on the horizon.
United will lose both Sofyan Amrabat and Hannibal Mejbri in January as they jet off to play for Morocco and Tunisia respectively.
Amrabat missed out on Boxing Day and that’s why Gore was pushed up the pecking order, so it may well be a similar story in January.
United still have multiple injuries in midfield too so an early January deal seems very unlikely, leaving North End to weigh up whether to wait and be patient or look elsewhere.