Five things spotted as Preston North End's players put through their paces on return for pre-season

Youngsters involved

There are plenty of young guns involved this week with Theo Carroll, Troy Tarry, Kacper Pasiek, Kaedyn Kamara, Felipe Rodriguez-Gentile, Max Wilson and Noah Mawene all seen taking part in training with the senior squad. Josh Seary was also back at Euxton as he continues his rehabilitation on that serious knee injury, while James Pradic joined in the goalkeeper drills after an injury-impacted 2024/25 campaign. One youngster who did catch the eye - mostly due to his massive height - was Clayton Lescott. The son of Joleon is a second year scholar and plays in midfield.

Osmajic back

Eagle eyed supporters were quick to point out that Milutin Osmajic appeared absent from PNE’s day one video of training. The Montenegrin had been away with his country until early June but as had Stefan Thordarson and Ali McCann, who were both involved on Monday. Any question marks were put to bed on Tuesday though, as PNE posted a social media video confirming Osmajic’s return to Euxton. The striker looked sharp in the drills and team-mates seemed glad to have him back.

In it together

Footballers live good lives but the first few days of pre-season always look gruelling, with facial expressions painting a picture of how tough it is. Paul Heckingbottom and his staff got involved with some of the running drills and Tuesday then saw the players take part in, what appeared to be, the most difficult run of all. It’s one of those the North End lads have to get through together and club captain Ben Whiteman led the handshakes afterwards. Young midfielder Kamara was out in front and admitted his legs went to ‘jelly’, when reacting afterwards with club media.

Fresh faces

Preston freshened their club staff up this summer and they’ve gotten straight down to work, with new fitness coach Andy Liddell leading sessions and coach Jason Euell taking groups for technical drills. There was obviously no sign of Ched Evans, with the 36-year-old having seen his playing contract expire and been offered a coaching role with the academy. It’s believed there will be some news on that front in a couple of weeks, one way or another.

New looks

There are always a few fresh appearances on day one and while Mads Frokjaer’s style hasn’t changed, his haircut has. The Dane returned with a buzz-cut; the ultimate low- maintenance trim. Frokjaer laughed off Jordan Storey’s observation that he looked like someone from ‘American Pie’, with the midfielder sporting baggy denim shorts, a loose fit white linen shirt and clog sandals. Felipe Rodriguez-Gentile has gone blonde while Noah Mawene has followed in Frokjaer’s footsteps with a buzzcut fade.

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