"A fan favourite" - Preston North End: Alvaro Fernandez named in player return dilemma | OneFootball

FLW's Preston North End fan pundit has identified which former player he wishes was in the current squad

Preston North End have had a far from ideal start to the Championship season, and that has left fans clamouring for some strengthening to the squad when January arrives.

Paul Heckingbottom has taken the reins of the first team squad following Ryan Lowe’s sudden departure after just one match of the 2024-25 campaign.

The January transfer window will be his first proper opportunity to leave a mark on the side, having now had the chance to get to know the players in the last couple of months.

While he was appointed in August, it is always difficult to make a good judgement of what changes need to be made with so little time left in the summer window.

There are no doubt plenty of former players from Preston’s past that Heckingbottom would love to bring back to the club as well that he didn’t get the chance to work with, and with a left wing-back likely to be one of the positions that needs looking at at the start of 2025, it will remind supporters that they had a very good option in that role just a few seasons ago.

Alvaro Carreras, Preston North End claim issued

When asked which former player he wishes was in the current squad, FLW’s Preston fan pundit Darren Watson named Álvaro Fernandez (now going by the name Alvaro Carreras).

The Spanish full-back spent the 2022-23 campaign on loan with the Lilywhites, winning the club's Young Player of the Year award, and Darren believes that the Spaniard would be an ideal solution to their current defensive issues - albeit it would now be a very unrealistic move given his development.

"If I could bring one former player to the current squad, it would have to actually be a loan player,” Watson told Football League World.

“I know at Preston we’ve had a lot of really, really good few loan players in the past.

“We’ve had Jordan Pickford before on loan, obviously Troy Parrott, Anthony Gordon as well before he’s obviously done well, and shot to fame now in football.

“We’ve got some really, really good loan players, but I think one player that I think would fit into this current team would be Álvaro Fernandez.

“Now, when he came to North End, straight away he was a fan favourite.

“He always put a shift in, and I just think our current situation with our defence at the moment, I think he would fit straight into that team and make us more defensively sound.

“He’s a great all around player, still young, still hungry to better himself as well.

“It’s a bit of a disappointment that obviously we couldn’t try get him from United when we first got him on loan, but brilliant player and I would like to see him playing back in England again soon."

Álvaro Fernandez’s Preston North End stint gave him the platform for Benfica success

Fernandez spent the 2022/23 campaign on loan with Preston, where he made 39 Championship appearances.

The full-back contributed to four assists, as the Lancashire outfit finished 12th in the second tier table.

Fernandez, also known as Álvaro Carreras, currently plies his trade with Portuguese giants Benfica, and he made that move ahead heading on loan to Granada in La Liga for the first half of last season.

Recalled though after the first half of the campaign, Carreras headed to Portugal, where he is thriving as the starting left-back at the Estadio da Luz.

According to Teamtalk, Man United are weighing the possibility of bringing him back to Old Trafford due to his strong performances, as the Red Devils have a buyback clause they can activate.

While Fernandez didn’t quite make it work at United, he still gained valuable first team experience with his loan move to Deepdale two-and-a-half years ago.

The Championship was where he first made his breakthrough into senior football, and his performances showed flashes of the bright talent he’d become at Benfica.

He is now quickly becoming one of the most sought-after players in his position in Europe after performing well in Portugal - so far this season, he has contributed two goals and one assist from 10 appearances in the Primeira Liga, and he's only going to get better. Will Ruben Amorim bring him back to England? Only time will tell.