Preston North End will hope Aston Villa don't repeat Plymouth Argyle decision in January | OneFootball

Kaine Kesler-Hayden has been one of the standout performers during a tough start to the season at Deepdale

Preston North End head into the international break in miserable form, with no win in their last five league games seeing them drawn back towards the battle at the bottom.

Issues at both ends of the pitch have hampered Paul Heckingbottom’s side of late, with a lack of cutting edge up top and porosity in defence seeing them unable earn a win, despite being in some promising leading positions.

One bright spark of the season so far has been the performances of Aston Villa loanee Kaine Kesler-Hayden, who has given the Lilywhites some impetus down both flanks, with his pace and desire to join in attacks.

The Lancashire outfit will likely be wary of this come January though, having seen the same player taken away from Plymouth Argyle last January after a standout start to the season.

Kaine Kesler-Hayden has had an impressive start to life at Preston North End

Kesler-Hayden continues to establish himself as a top operator at Championship level, with his enthusiasm to bomb forward from his wing-back role proving to be a key outlet for North End in the season so far.

The 22-year-old seems to glide along the turf as he joins in attacks, while his energy to track back and help from a defensive point of view has seen him become one of the first names on the team sheet at Deepdale this season.

Able to fill in at a number of positions across the pitch, the Villa loanee has had a number of eye-catching performances in his most recent stint in the Championship, with the clash at local rivals Burnley last month bringing the best out of him, earning the Player of the Match from Sky Sports as his side earned a 0-0 draw at Turf Moor.

Not only that, but Kesler-Hayden’s impact can be seen in the underlying numbers, with no other North End player matching his 30 progressive carries across the second tier season so far, such is his penchant for powering his side forward when in possession.

Only Ben Whiteman and Sam Greenwood can top the loanee for shot-creating actions, with his 24 seeing him rank higher than playmaker Mads Frokjaer-Jensen, as well as Brad Potts and Emil Riis.

There is no question the defender could perform for a club higher up the division or even play a bit-part role with his parent club, and that will be the worry at Deepdale as we head towards the end of the calendar year, with Villa likely to be keeping a keen eye on proceeding in the north west once again.

Preston North End will hope to avoid Plymouth Argyle repeat with Kaine Kesler-Hayden

It was about this time last season that the same things were being said of the wide man during his time at Home Park, with his tireless performances contributing to Argyle’s impressive start to life in the second tier.

Kesler-Hayden emerged as a regular in the starting line-up at Home Park, with Steven Schumacher making the most of the young stars’ talents, as he fitted straight into the attacking brand of football the Greens were trying to produce.

But after Schumacher’s move to Stoke City in December, things quickly changed around the club, with Villa making the decision to bring the defender back to the club for the remainder of the season, despite their talent playing regular football in the second tier.

After that decision was made, he had to make do with sitting on the bench when he made the match day squad, before coming on near the end to help see out games, as he mustered just eleven minutes of action from his four appearances.

If the same thing happens again, PNE will need to work hard to find a replacement for the Villa man in January, with his contributions at both ends of the pitch helping North End earn the points they have to their name this season, not to mention he is one of their only sources of genuine pace in the squad.

Not only that, but even the player will unlikely want to return to the Premier League outfit if he ends up in a similar scenario as last season; at 22-years-old, Kesler-Hayden will want to be playing as many games as he can, and that is what he is being given the chance to do at Deepdale right now.

One player doesn’t make a team, but any repeat of last January’s antics will hit the Lilywhites hard, and make their battle at the bottom an even tougher challenge in the second-half of the season.