Preston North End transfer demand issued involving £10m Aston Villa player - they'd be "stupid" to pass it up | OneFootball

Preston North End’s FLW fan pundit has spoken about whether the club should pursue a permanent deal for Aston Villa loanee Lewis Dobbin.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

After flirting with relegation at the end of last season, Preston North End are now welcoming the idea of a promotion push after an excellent start to the 2025-26 campaign.

Led by Paul Heckingbottom, the Lilywhites put themselves fourth in the Championship table heading into the October international break, taking 16 points from their opening nine games and showing themselves to be a surprise package this season.

PNE have claimed many scalps already in the second tier this term too, beating both Leicester City and Ipswich Town as well as claiming points against promotion rivals QPR and Middlesbrough.

It’s a far cry from the end of last season as Preston were winless from their last eight league outings, as a point at Bristol City retained their Championship status, but there’s now serious optimism brewing that the way of getting out of the division will be promotion to the Premier League.

A key reason to their superb start has been the utilisation of the loan market, picking up young and exciting players from top-flight clubs who are eager to impress and make a name for themselves in the Championship.

During the summer transfer window, Preston recruited Harrison Armstrong from Everton, Alfie Devine from Tottenham Hotspur and Lewis Dobbin from Aston Villa, who are all producing the goods so far and contributing to their rise towards the top end of the table.

Dobbin, in particular, has been a revelation so far at Deepdale. He had two previous loan stints in the second-tier with West Brom and Norwich City, with the former hindering his progress with a lack of game time, while the latter was disrupted by injury after showing promise.

Now, he’s lighting up the division again and proving himself to be one of the most dangerous attackers in the Championship, scoring once and providing two assists from five league games.

With his instant impact there for all to see, FLW’s Preston North End fan pundit has outlined whether the club should pursue a permanent deal for the Aston Villa loanee.

Speaking to Football League World, Preston North End fan pundit Darren Watson has urged the Lilywhites to move in for Lewis Dobbin on a permanent transfer, believing the club needs to learn from previous mistakes and recruit players with potential in order to push for a return to the Premier League.

Darren told FLW: “With the additions of Lewis Dobbin, Alfie Devine and also Harrison Armstrong from Everton, they’re all young players that are very good.

"I’m not saying we’re going to go and get Armstrong from Everton and Devine from Tottenham, but Lewis Dobbin, he’s a very good player, he’s very technical, very skillful, and I think we’d be stupid to not go in for a player like that.

“We let Kaine Kesler-Hayden go back to Aston Villa, and he was sold to Coventry for about £3m.

"He’s (Dobbin) definitely the type of player we need going forward, very fast, obviously scored a goal, a really good goal (against Middlesbrough) and he’s the type of player we need to go and get.

“I’m sick and tired now of the club getting these loan players in, them having amazing seasons and then other clubs coming and stealing them from under our noses.

"We need to keep these players in to build a good squad so we can actually get out of this league and get to the Premier League.”

Preston North End should move for Lewis Dobbin permanently if early form continues

As our Preston North End fan pundit alluded to, the Lilywhites will not be able to prize Harrison Armstrong away from Everton, although they do have a chance with Devine thanks to an option to buy clause, but Lewis Dobbin could be a player who Aston Villa may wish to move on next summer.

His first-team prospects seem very limited at this point as the West Midlands outfit tries to build themselves back into being a Premier League heavyweight, while Dobbin does need a settled environment for his football after spending time away on loan for the last couple of seasons.

He looks reinvigorated and eager to shine in a Preston shirt after his setback at Carrow Road, and he’s demonstrated this by showing his electric pace, a willingness to drive at opposition defenders and having the composure to both score and create chances for his teammates.

If he can keep fit and maintain these brilliant displays, then he will be a sought-after player heading into January, and Preston will want to make sure that they are not pipped to the post yet again for such a talented asset - although he did cost Villa £10 million in 2024, owing to a PSR-related transaction which involved Tim Iroegbunam heading to Everton in the opposite direction.

After spending 11 consecutive seasons in the Championship without reaching the play-offs, it’s about time Preston emerged and turned themselves into a second-tier powerhouse, and the development of a youthful and fearless squad is exactly what is needed to help aid this.

This should begin by securing the services of Dobbin for years to come, with this signing having the potential to draw other wonderkids through the building as they view Preston as the perfect place to learn and grow.