Álvaro Fernández, who spent the 2022/23 season on loan at Preston North End from Manchester United, scored his first professional goal yesterday whilst playing for Benfica.
The Spanish left-back played the full 90 minutes and found the back of the net in Benfica’s 3-1 win against Farense, marking a significant milestone in his promising career. Whilst at Preston, Fernández made 42 appearances but failed to get on the scoresheet, so this goal will be a memorable one for the young defender.
What may come as a surprise is that he scored it with his right-foot after cutting inside.
The 21-year-old provided six assists at Preston, and was voted the club’s Young Player of the Year by the supporters. Fernández was well-liked at Deepdale, with the club’s website praising his “great” loan spell and quoting him saying he “enjoyed it a lot” and thanking the fans for their support.
After his successful stint at Preston, Fernández joined La Liga side Granada on loan for the 2023/24 campaign. He played 14 games for the Spanish top flight strugglers before switching to Benfica in January. He is still on loan from Manchester United, but Benfica are thought to have an option to buy him permanently in the summer.
Fernandez was a player that quickly understood what it meant to play for Preston North End, he built a connection with the fans and you could tell he enjoyed his time here.
He was back at Deepdale to watch the first home game of the season; a 2-1 win over Sunderland. He has also been reminiscing recently on the anniversary of our 3-1 home win against Lancashire rivals Blackpool.
In the absence of Fernandez the likes of Liam Millar, Robbie Brady, Kian Best and Andrew Hughes have occupied the left-wing-back position. Let’s hope that like Fernandez, Millar isn’t another one who doesn’t return after a superb loan spell.
Preston fans still watch keenly on former loan players from recent years with Cameron Archer, Lukas Nmecha, Sepp van den Berg and Tom Cannon just some of the others to have blessed Deepdale for a short period before moving on elsewhere.
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