Preston North End starlet's future now unclear after breakthrough year, Fulham links and Saudi Arabia snub

It all happened very quickly for Kian Best and the hope soon set in that Preston North End could truly have one of their own, out there, wearing the shirt every week. Very few, over the last decade, have bridged the academy to first team gap and made their mark on the senior stage. That it not a criticism of any work going on at Springfields; the jump is absolutely enormous. But, Best got the nod at Bristol City, did himself no harm and then provided a fine assist at Hillsborough. Excitement started to bubble.

It was always likely to slow down though and that proved to be the case, with the rest of Best’s 2023/24 campaign extremely stop-start. He didn’t play a game in September, came off the bench at Leicester in early October and Hull City in late October. In his fourth November outing, Best had a difficult day at Middlesbrough - but the entire team did. He was then not seen, in the league, until the end of March. In some instances, other youngsters made the bench ahead of him.

It was, of course, such early days and more opportunities than Best would’ve ever imagined, came his way over the course of the season. He will have taken plenty from it and improved. His stock began to rise, an England Under-19 call-up was earned and Fulham were credited with interest in December. Fast forward to this campaign, and Best is on the fringes of the first team as things stand. He was substituted on against Sheffield United and Harrogate Town, with game time predominantly for the reserves.

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Next summer, his contract at Deepdale runs out. An opportunity to move to the Saudi Pro League arose in September, but it was rejected by the player. Manager Paul Heckingbottom certainly didn’t close the book on Best, when asked about his situation last month. If anything, his assessment was measured and reasonable - citing that the 19-year-old’s progression could easily have stalled due to a lack of game time, but also placing an onus on the player to work hard and get himself back in the fold.

There is undoubted quality in Best’s left foot, but he now has impressing to do and trust to earn all over again. North End’s regular starters in defence are all out of contract next summer; it is one area of the team you would expect to see freshened up over the next 12 to 18 months. In hindsight, a loan move for Best would’ve been ideal for all parties. There was always a long way to go, a lot of hard yards to put in and stripes to definitely earn, but this hasn’t quite kicked on as he probably hoped it would. Time will ultimately tell whether Best can get himself back in the picture - and if Preston is to remain his home.