Cameron Archer made quite the impression on his Preston debut, and Aston Villa could end up replacing him with an ex-North End loanee in Stephy Mavididi.
Preston struck on Monday to bring Archer to Deepdale, finalising a loan deal until the end of the season.
Archer started on the bench against West Bromwich Albion on Wednesday night, with Ryan Lowe looking to bring him along slowly.
Archer was thrown on as a second-half substitute and made an instant impact, heading in Preston’s second goal in a 2-0 win.
North End fans will now be hoping to see much more of Archer between now and the summer, with the youngster making the perfect start.
What’s interesting is that Villa could now sign a new attacker before Monday’s deadline, filling the void left by Archer.
It had been noted that Villa were looking to sign another striker if Archer was to leave for Preston.
Ironically, the new name on Villa’s wish list is an attacker who spent time on loan at North End in Stephy Mavididi.
Tuttomercatoweb claim that Villa are fighting West Ham United for the signing of Mavididi before Monday’s transfer deadline.
Mavididi spent time on loan at Preston in 2017, but was a major disappointment in his stint from Arsenal.
Since then, Mavididi has become a star. A move to Juventus allowed Mavididi to work with top players, and he then excelled with Dijon.
Now with Montpellier, Mavididi has hit eight goals and three assists in just 21 league games this season, terrorising Ligue 1 defences.
That’s why Premier League clubs now want to sign Mavididi, with the 23-year-old developing rapidly since leaving Preston.
With Archer on loan at North End, Mavididi could end up filling in for him at Villa in a strange twist of fate.