Preston North End's divisive talisman Emil Riis hits 100 games with goals, quarantine and links to Middlesbrough all in the mix

It was not a day to remember for the Dane who did not have the best of it agains the Blades but there have certainly been some very good moments in the previous 99 games.

His 100 games have come across just under two years, with some FA Cup and Carabao Cup games topping up the 92 league games he has played so far.

He has netted 24 times in his century of games, averaging a goal nearly every four games.

21 of those goals came last season as Riis finished the club’s top scorer and hit the 20-goal marker for the first time. He was also the first player to hit 20 goals whilst playing in the second tier for PNE since Richard Cresswell in 2004/05, and the first since Ricardo Fuller the season before to net as many as 17 in the Championship. Only Joe Garner, in back to back seasons from 2013 to 2015, has scored over 20 goals in a season since, bagging 16 and then 25 in League One, both tallies topped up with further cup goals.

It has been eventful for the 24-year-old since arriving at the club. He was initially living in a hotel before he found an apartment in Manchester and was then joined by his girlfriend, though everything was shut, she had to quarantine and even the police knocked on their door to check. It’s easy to forget how tough it can be moving your life to a new country at a young age, when a global pandemic kicks in.

But then Riis kicked into life, after struggling for game time under Alex Neil, Frankie McAvoy put faith in the Dane and he repaid him in goals. He started last season quickly with seven goals in 11 games and that form continued after Ryan Lowe’s appointment.

He went into this season with renewed confidence after coming out of a tough spot since joining the club but has yet to really leave his mark on the campaign so far.

The biggest mark he has left is probably not one he would have wanted, talk of a move away. Riis was linked with a move to Middlesbrough that was decribed by Lowe as distracting his star forward and with his game time so far this season a bit hit and miss, he was open to discussing a move to the Riverside.

And despite his aforementioned heroics that have rarely been seen at Deepdlae over the last 20 years, plenty of PNE fans were happy to see the Dane depart.

His issue, largely, is that if he is not scoring goals, he offers little else. He is hot and cold but when he is on song he is very tough to stop. He has a stunner against Luton Town from a narrow angle and alast minute equaliser on the volley against Bristol City too look back on but for such a clear and outstading talent, Riis splits opinion.

He is not in the best of form at the moment but has shown in his 100 games at Deepdale that he has genuine quality. Whether he makes 200, seems unlcear right now.