Why Lukas Nmecha has made a shrewd move by joining Preston Noth End on loan

According to Manchester Evening News, Lukas Nmecha has joined Preston North End on a season-long loan from Manchester City. The striker will spend the season in the EFL Championship despite making his competitive debut last season in the Carabao Cup.

Lukas Nmecha was the only striker available for Manchester City’s pre-season tour to the United States this summer. The England Under-21 star put in a string of impressive performances under the watchful eyes of Spanish manager Pep Guardiola. Nmecha scored his first goal senior goal in a 3-2 win over Bayern Munich in the International Champions Cup.

There were a number of clubs interested in taking Nmecha on loan, including Dutch side NAC Breda (h/t Manchester Evening News). However, Preston eventually won the battle to land the youngster on deadline day and it could prove to be a shrewd piece of business. Preston manager Alex Neil hailed the move, calling the teenager “one of the brightest centre-forwards in the country at his age group”. He joins academy teammate Brandon Barker, who has also joined Preston in search of more first-team action.

Given the plethora of talented senior attackers available for Guardiola to choose from, it would have been difficult for Nmecha to get minutes at the Etihad. At Preston, the teenager will get the minutes he needs to prove his worth. The Hamburg-born player, who has played in all age set-ups for England, has been impressive in the Premier League 2, scoring 26 goals and assisting three more in 33 appearances. The 19-year-old also helped the England U21 side win the 2018 Toulon Tournament in May.

Nmecha is the club’s seventh summer signing, following the likes of Ryan Ledson, Michael Crowe, Andrew Hughes, Graham Burke and Jordan Storey.  The teenager can play either as a centre-forward or as a winger on either flank.

The Hamburg-born player is comfortable with both his feet although he is known to prefer his right foot. He has an excellent first touch and great finishing abilities. Nmecha often uses his pace to run at defenders and he could give many of them a headache at Deepdale this season.

Preston, managed by former Norwich boss Alex Neil, finished seventh in the Championship last season.  They narrowly missed out on promotion playoffs, finishing just one place below the playoffs spots.

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Neil’s side won their first game of the 2018/19 campaign, a 1-0 home win over QPR on Saturday. Nmecha’s goals could prove vital as Preston chase promotion after painfully missing out last season. As far as Nmecha is concerned, he faces an uphill task to break into City’s line-up. To do so, he must consistently put the ball into the back of the net at Preston this campaign.