"Bit jealous" - Preston North End told to avoid repeat of Liam Millar mistake next summer | OneFootball

The former North End loanee is now plying his trade for Hull City after the Tigers snapped him up in the summer

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Preston North End had one of the quieter summer transfer windows in the Championship, with the Lilywhites bringing in just five players to bolster their options ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.

The Lancashire side have also had to deal with the upheaval in the dugout during the early stages of the season, with Ryan Lowe departing Deepdale after just 90 minutes of football being played.

Paul Heckingbottom has since come in to try and steady the ship, with nine points from as many games seeing an upturn in results, with just one defeat in their last five heading into the International break.

But if the fanbase could have one thing to say to their owners, what would it be? We posed that question to Football League World’s North End fan pundit Darren Watson, and this is what he had to say.

Preston North End told that they need to learn from Liam Millar fiasco

North End utilised the loan market last season to bring in Liam Millar from FC Basel, with the Canadian wide man causing havoc on the left-hand side for the Lilywhites throughout the campaign.

With ten goal contributions from his 35 matches with the club, there looked every chance that the former Liverpool man could return to the club on a permanent deal this summer, only for Hull City to win the race for his signature - Millar making it very clear that he did not see himself as a wing-back like Lowe did last season.

The 25-year-old has since gone on to shine for the Tigers in the Championship this season, with one goal and two assists to his name at this point in the season.

To see one of their former stars turning out for the East Riding of Yorkshire outfit has been hard to take for Watson, who doesn’t want to see a similar scenario anytime soon, especially with Kaine Kesler-Hayden impressing already on loan from Aston Villa.

Watson told Football League World: “If I had one demand for our club’s current owner, it would be to go out and buy the loan players that do well at our club.

“Obviously, last season we saw Liam Millar do absolutely brilliant at Preston North End, but obviously didn’t like playing in that left wing-back position that previous manager Ryan Lowe wanted.

“He then went to Hull for an absolute bargain and we missed out on him, and I really think we could have afforded him, because we have paid more for players since then.

“I think he is just a top quality player and I am actually a bit jealous that Hull do have him, because he can go out and win games.”

Preston North End must act quickly to keep loan players next summer

Of the five signings Preston made in the summer, three were loan deals, with Kaine Kesler-Hayden [pictured] joining from Aston Villa, Josh Bowler from Nottingham Forest, and Sam Greenwood from Leeds United.

Of the three, Watson already has his eyes on one player who he could see staying at Deepdale on a permanent basis, and has urged his team to repeat making the mistakes of their past.

Watson continued: “We need to look at the players we have in this season - we have Kaine Kesler-Hayden from Aston Villa, who has been absolutely brilliant in every game that he has played.

“If he keeps it up, we need to be looking at what Aston Villa will do; will they give us him back on loan again, or can we afford him if he wants to stay?”

Kesler-Hayden signed a new contract at Villa Park a month before heading to Deepdale for the current campaign, but as he prepares to turn 22 years of age later in October, the full-back has still only featured five times for his boyhood club.

Therefore, an opening could arise at the end of the season where North End pursue a permanent switch for the versatile defender - you'd imagine it would take close to a club-record fee, which is currently the £2.15 million deal for Milutin Osmajic, to prize Kesler-Hayden away from the Midlands.