[themaclad]

Preston North End are delighted to confirm Álvaro Fernández has joined the club on loan from Manchester United.

The 19-year-old, who operates as a left wing back, will spend the duration of the upcoming season at Deepdale after completing his move on Tuesday.

Spain U19 international Fernández had a superb campaign for United’s youth team during the 2021/22 season, ending it by being named as the club’s U23 Player of the Year.



Speaking after joining PNE, Álvaro said: “I’m very happy, and I want to start with this club as soon as possible.

“I wanted to go on loan and start to play at a high level.

“I’ve spoken to the manager about the football, it’s so good. I like his plans for the season so I want to start.”

Since joining Manchester United from Real Madrid in 2020, the defender’s stock has continued to rise, and he was named as a substitute for the Red Devils’ final four Premier League games last season.

He will now look to develop further as a player by gaining his first experiences of senior football at Preston North End.

Manager Ryan Lowe said: “Álvaro's one we’ve monitored and one who was brought to our attention through our chief scout James Wallace who’s watched him numerous times.

“Once we’d watched him a little bit more we felt he could do a job for us down that side as a left wing back.

“He’ll challenge Robbie [Brady] to start. Robbie’s got the quality in his left foot of picking passes out, and Álvaro's got different types of qualities in that he gets at people and he can get past them with high energy.

“He’s a fantastic asset to us. He’s going to be a fantastic football player for Manchester United, but we need Álvaro to help us in our Championship campaign for us to help him to hopefully one day make his Premier League debut for Manchester United.”