Dobbin joins Southampton after starring role on loan at North End
Last season’s Deepdale loan star Lewis Dobbin has joined Southampton from Aston Villa in a reported £10million deal.
The 23-year-old, has put pen to paper on a four-year contract with Saints.
The move comes after the forward’s impressive spell at Preston, where he finished top scorer for Paul Heckingbottom’s men, scoring 11 goals in all competitions – 10 of them in the Championship.
“It’s an amazing feeling, I’m very grateful to be able to represent this club and to be given the opportunity to play for Southampton is something that I can’t ever take for granted,” he told Saints’ website.
“I’m just really thankful to be here and I can’t wait to get started.
“It’s been a busy few weeks, but Tonda (Eckert) was the first manager I spoke to and the way he spoke about the football club, the way he spoke about the players, it sold it to me straightaway.
“My mind was already made up as soon as I knew Southampton were interested.”
The attacker had also attracted interest from Wolves and Middlesbrough, while Sheffield United were linked with a possible move.
Dobbin scored against Saints home and away for North End last season.
He started his career at Everton, going out on loan to Derby, before he joined the Villans in June 2024 in a deal which saw Tim Iroegbunam move in the opposite direction.
But never made a first-team appearance for Villa, with loan spells at Norwich City and West Bromwich Albion coming, before he arrived at Deepdale last August on a season-long loan deal.