Five Preston North End players for whom the 2026/27 season is particularly big for

Lewis Gibson

The Lilywhites moved quickly to secure the centre-back’s services in January of last year, and he made a strong first impression on the Deepdale faithful. He started the most recent campaign strongly and received praise from manager Paul Heckingbottom for his professionalism, mentality and consistency. An obvious aim for Gibson next season will be greater availability. No player means to get injured but 19 league games is a lot to miss. A fit and firing Gibson is more than capable of making a solid contribution, over the course of a season. He turns 26 in July, so his prime years should be around the corner.

Andrew Moran

There was a lot to like about the permanent addition of the Irishman, who arrived with two full seasons of Championship experience under his belt. While perhaps realistic given his lack of recent game time, the only disappointment with Moran was that it took so long to get see him feature regularly. But, he strikes you as the kind of player, and person, whom the PNE faithful and manager will appreciate. He has technical quality but it’s Moran’s energy, honesty and endeavour which should serve him well in a Preston shirt.

Odel Offiah

The other player snapped up from Brighton in the last 12 months. On the back of a positive loan in League One, Offiah had to bide his time for opportunities on the Championship stage. He was also moved around the North End defence which, while he is happy to do a job for the team, might’ve disrupted his rhythm. Offiah has made it clear he feels right centre-back in a three, or right back in a four, is his best position. Awareness, anticipation and concentration will be key things for him to improve on next year, and combine with his recovery pace and one-v-one defending.

Callum Lang

After assisting goals against Watford and Swansea City, everyone’s worst fears struck when Lang’s season was ended in early March. The 27-year-old is a signing for the here and now and clearly, the hope will have been that Lang could’ve aided Preston’s play-off ambitions last season. That is in the past now, so everyone simply has to look forwards. It does not take a rocket scientist to pinpoint the big challenge with Lang. When he is fit and on the pitch there is every chance he impacts games positively for PNE. There were no risks taken with him at the end of last season. Now, it’s all about getting a strong pre-season ticked off.

Thierry Small

It’s still such early days in Small’s career and he will have learned an awful lot from his first year, not only at Preston but in the Championship too. He had his ups and downs but should be better off for the whole experience. Small was an exciting addition this time last year and it’s on everyone involved to help him fulfill his potential as a player. One thing is for sure, he has the drive, appetite and personality to do so. It will be interesting to see where he is predominantly deployed next year. Small tended to operate on the left flank but towards the end of the season, admitted he feels more potent on the right.