Youl Mawene was a star with Preston North End – could his son follow in his footsteps?

The Frenchman joined North End from Derby County in 2004 and spent six years at Deepdale, where he was a part of the PNE side that came within 90 minutes of the Premier League, losing out to West Ham in the 2005 play-off final.

Now there is a chance there will be another Mawene in the famous white shirt in the shape of his son, Noah.

The youngster is currently playing in Preston’s academy and although he is an Under-15s player, he recently played for the Under-18s.

Mawene Snr admits he did not really expect his children to follow in his footsteps.

Speaking to the Lancashire Post, he said: “The kids kicked about and they saw me play in matches.

“Then they caught the bug. They played a bit of grassroots locally and I never thought anything.

“They’re just enjoying their life, they’re just enjoying their football basically.

“Noah’s got to a stage now where he’s doing well, I’ve started to take him to Preston to see how he gets on with it.

“He’s been loving it, he’s been loving training, he gets on really well with the lads there, the coaches, he really feels at home there.

“He is still very young and the competition is fierce, just to go from Under-18s to the first team at Preston is a big, big step.

“It requires a hell of a lot of hard work, there will be a lot of disappointment, a lot of rejection and there will be a lot of worries at that age.

“You’ve just got to go through that process, I went through it and I’m pretty sure every player who had the fortune to make it did.

“I had ups and downs at those years – he’s got to keep learning and picking things up.”

Despite his vast experience in the game – having also played for Aberdeen and played in the UEFA Cup for Lens, before ending his career with Fleetwood Town – Mawene tries to take a back seat.

“Noah’s progress has been great, I’m not too involved because I don’t want to be the dad shouting stuff on the sideline, going nuts,” he said. “I try and let him get on with it.

“He’s more of a midfield player, he’s probably got more technique than I had. He’s more of a box-to-box midfielder, for what it’s worth.

“He’s about my size so he’s got a bit of a profile – a bit tall, a bit gangly as well!”