Preston North End have reportedly turned down a bid from the Saudi Pro League for Kian Best. The 19-year-old is keen to remain at the club.
According to the Lancashire Post, Best was adamantly against the move and wishes to stay with the Championship side. An undisclosed fee was sent to the Lilywhites, prior to the upcoming closure of the Saudi window.
With England under-19 experience now, the young defender has already received interest from Premier League side, Fulham. This was also waved away in December 2023, in favour of extending his stay with North End.
Preston’s number 33 has featured 16 times for the Lancashire outfit, since making his debut under Ryan Lowe. The faith shown in Best has been translated to Paul Heckingbottom’s arrival, where the defender’s talent has still been highly regarded. Best has been in the academy set-up since the age of nine.
A performance that crucially highlighted the defender’s skillset, was the assist he notched against Sheffield Wednesday last season. Best delicately lofted the ball – from a set-piece situation – onto the head of Liam Lindsay, as he put PNE 1-0 up. This proved to be the only decisive moment in the game.
With a tough few months out due to an ankle injury last season, the 19-year-old has made two appearances this campaign. Three minutes against Sheffield United and half an hour against Harrogate Town have been Best’s only involvements so far.
Impressively, Best successfully made 1.42 crosses per 90 in the 2023/24 season. This ranked the young star in the 93rd percentile for similar defenders in the Championship. Every 90 minutes, the Preston prospect put up 2.33 accurate long balls and created 1.16 key chances.
The 19-year-old is a very versatile defender, with a skillset that utilises him in different positions. Best’s crossing ability has seen him feature as a wing-back, but has also proven to be defensively adequate as a left-sided centre-back.
Prior to this Saudi League interest, the defender’s expected involvement in the first team had been given a significant boost. With Heckingbottom looking to move away from a rigid back five, the youngster may have a reasonable chance of slotting into a four-man defence.
Andrew Hughes has started the majority of Preston’s openers as the left-sided defender, but a drop in form could allow Best to step up. Greg Cunningham was the only other competition as an out-and-out left-back, but his release in the summer has landed the 33-year-old a new home with Galway United.
Writer’s View
A decent amount of trust should be put in the impressive 19-year-old this season. Heckingbottom is an experienced manager who enjoys harnessing youth players’ talents and giving them a platform to shine. The former Sheffield United manager has already made crucial changes to North End’s academy involvement and will look to benefit from a rise in younger talent.
Best was excellent in the first few fixtures of last season’s Championship. Robbie Brady then became the first-choice defender in that competitive position, leaving the young defender on the sidelines. A foot injury however, prevented the Englishman from returning to the left wing-back role that campaign.
This could be the perfect opportunity to allow Best to benefit from some important minutes. As a talented teenager, he is entering his final year with the Lilywhites and could look to move away for game-time reasons, if Best becomes unhappy with his involvement. It is important that Heckingbottom’s side don’t allow this to happen, as a local talent like this hasn’t featured at Deepdale in a long time.
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