Preston North End: Plea involving Liam Millar directed at Ryan Lowe | OneFootball

FLW's Preston North End fan pundit has urged the club to re-sign Basel winger Liam Millar this summer.

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…

Preston North End will be hoping to challenge for promotion from the Championship next season.

The Lilywhites were among the play-off contenders for much of last season, but a decline in form towards the end of the campaign saw them fall away from the top six, and they finished 10th in the table.

North End have made two new signings this summer as manager Ryan Lowe rebuilds his squad for another promotion push, with Stefan Teitur Thordarson and Sam Greenwood arriving at the club, while Alan Browne, Greg Cunningham and Ben Woodburn have departed at the end of their contracts.

Liam Millar transfer latest

One player the Lilywhites are hoping to re-sign this summer is winger Liam Millar, who spent last season on loan at Deepdale from Basel, and while chairman Peter Risdale admitted in May that it is unlikely he will return, he said the two clubs remain in contact over a potential deal.

Millar impressed during his time with the Lancashire outfit, and it seems his performances have not gone unnoticed, with Leeds United, Sheffield United, Burnley and Sunderland all said to be keen.

North End face significant competition for Millar's signature, and the 24-year-old, who featured in every game for Canada during the Copa America this summer, cast further doubt on a return to the club when he admitted he was unhappy that he was deployed in a wing-back role by Lowe last season, rather than in a more advanced position.

"That wasn’t the plan, to play as a wing-back," Millar told The Star. "The gaffer at the time thought that that was the best thing for me, to play there in that position. That’s where he saw that he could get the best out of me.

"So obviously I’m not going to argue with him. He’s the coach, he makes the decisions. I’ve been very vocal that I don’t enjoy playing as a wing-back and I also told him that. But at the end of the day he’s the coach and I have to respect that. So he put me there and I played there to the best of my ability."

Preston North End fan pundit on potential Liam Millar return

FLW's Preston North End fan pundit Darren Watson says he would love to see Millar return to the club this summer, and he urged Lowe to adapt his system in order to play the Canadian international in his preferred position.

"I really rate Liam Millar quite highly," Darren said.

"I know he had this problem where he wanted to play at left wing and not wing-back.

"Watching him at Preston last season, everyone on the terraces was saying how good of a player he is.

"He's a good all-round player, we saw him come on and win games, especially in the game against Leeds at home where he scored that amazing goal. "He's good with both feet, he's a really good all-round player, and I think he's going to do really well wherever he goes. "I do think it could come back to haunt Preston if he does go to a Championship club this season. I know he's been linked with Sheffield United and a few other clubs. "He's going to be a threat in any team he plays for because he is that good, and I can see him actually progressing to the Premier League. "I really highly rate him, and I really think that Preston should think about taking him back and playing him where he wants to.

"Maybe we have to think about changing our style of play because we want to go and push for promotion with all of these decent players, and Liam Millar is definitely one of those."

Ryan Lowe facing big Liam Millar dilemma

It seems certain that Lowe will have to provide Millar with assurances that he will be allowed to play as a winger if he is to return to Preston this summer, but it could be argued that he should not change his system to accommodate one player.

As Darren says, Millar enjoyed a strong campaign for the Lilywhites last season, and it would be a big blow if he was to join one of their Championship rivals.

With North End missing out on the signing of Peterborough United's Harrison Burrows, it remains to be seen whether Lowe will be able to find players suited to his preferred system, and he may need to be flexible if he is unable to land his top targets.