Yellows bring in Preston youngster on loan

Highly-rated young Preston North End defender Josh Seary has joined Warrington Town on a three-month loan deal.

Seary, 17, has a professional deal at Deepdale until summer 2024 and will boost Mark Beesley’s squad ahead of Saturday’s season-opener against Morpeth Town.

He is described as a quick, attacking full-back who likes to get up and down the flank, and his performances for Preston’s academy saw him earn a call up to Republic of Ireland U19s.

The Liverpool-born defender has featured in two of the Yellows’ pre-season games as a trialist and has already been training with the squad.

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Last summer, Preston fended off interest from Premier League clubs when handing Seary his professional deal.

Yellows boss Mark Beesley: “Josh is a player we watched midway through last season and there was talk of him coming then, but maybe he was a little bit young and needed another six months.

“He’s highly thought of at Preston, and with the success Lewis had here, we’ve built up a good relationship with Preston and they were happy to send one of their hottest prospects out.

“It’s given him time to bed in, and they’ve said he’s ready for men’s football now. He’s good enough to now make that step up to the next level.

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“It’s important that lads come here for the right reasons. The environment we create here means players want to do well, and we’ve said to Josh he can use us to do well and get towards the Preston first team.”

Lewis Coulton, who spent the second half of last season on loan at Cantilever Park, has been handed a first-team squad number by Preston North End for the new campaign.