Ryan Lowe, the manager of Preston North End, recently addressed the speculation surrounding a potential loan move for Manchester United star Zidane Iqbal. The rumors began when Iqbal spent last season at Preston on a work placement initiated by Justin Cochrane, the head of the United Academy’s player development and coaching team. Despite the rumors, Lowe stated that Manchester United had not indicated that Iqbal was available for loan and that Preston were not actively pursuing the 19-year-old midfielder. However, he did not rule out the possibility of a move for Iqbal in the future, suggesting that the Championship could be too soon for him. Currently, Preston have Alvaro Fernandez on loan from United, who has made 23 appearances and provided four assists since joining the team. Iqbal, on the other hand, has yet to feature under Erik ten Haag and is currently spending his time with the under-21s. With the transfer window closing in two weeks, Iqbal’s availability could change and he could potentially go out on loan.
Preston North End Manager Ryan Lowe has played down recent talk of a possible loan move for Manchester United star Zidane Iqbal.
Following recent reports that Iqbal is looking for a loan, there have been rumors that Preston are one of the frontrunners due to the fact that Iqbal spent last season at the Lancashire club on a work placement.
At the initiative of Justin Cochrane, who now heads the player development and coaching team at the United Academy, Brentford allowed young United Academy players to spend a week or two training at Football League clubs to experience the rigors of junior league football.
One of them was with which Iqbal spent a week Preston last season, along with another unnamed United player, where they impressed manager Lowe, who told the Lancashire Post: “They joined us last year for a week and were excellent, a number of them.”
The Preston manager continued: “But we’re not interested in taking Zidane on loan unless they tell me it’s not like Manchester United and they say he wants to move, then it might be another conversation. They didn’t tell me that.”
Interestingly, rather than dispute interest in the midfielder, Lowe suggested any lack of movement was down to United making Iqbal unavailable, rather than Preston’s decision not to sign the 19-year-old.
In fact, Lowe didn’t rule him out completely, saying, “He definitely wasn’t on our radar in terms of not needing that position, but who knows, right? He is a quality player.”
Lowe, a graduate of Liverpool’s academy during his playing career, also hinted that a move could be more likely next season, saying: “Maybe the Championship is too soon for him, maybe it’s the Championship next season , but I just don’t know. .
“As far as I’m concerned, I didn’t know they’d talked about him with us, and I didn’t know he was available for hire.”
“I’d like to think we know about most of the kids and good players around the country who are available on loan.”
Among the current players on loan at Preston is Alvaro Fernandez from United. Last season’s U-21 player of the year, Fernandes has enjoyed himself well under Low, having already made 23 appearances and provided four assists.
Despite appearing regularly on the bench, Iqbal is yet to feature under Erik ten Haag and Kobi Mainu appears to have overtaken him up the charts to earn a debut against Charlton Athletic in the EFL Cup.
As a result, of Iqbal availability could change in the next two weeks and he could go out on loan rather than spend the rest of the season with the under-21s.
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