West Ham United keeping tabs on Preston North End midfielder Lewis Leigh
West Ham United are one of the clubs monitoring Preston North End central midfielder Lewis Leigh, according to Football.London.
The 17-year-old is also on the radar of Leicester City and Arsenal, with his performances at youth level for the Lancashire side catching their eyes too.
Leigh is expected to sign a new contract at Preston, with only a year left on his scholarship deal, but West Ham could be looking to bring him to London this summer.
One for the future
The midfield sensation was released by Liverpool before joining North End’s under-14 side.
West Ham are building their youth teams for the future, and Leigh could immediately be joining the Hammers under-23s if a deal can be struck.
The highly-rated youngster could save us millions in the future, and the fact that he has impressed with the senior team during the ongoing pre-season speaks volumes.
As highlighted on Preston’s website, Leigh can also play at right-back having featured there for their under-18s during the 2019-20 season.
The Hammers love what they have seen so far, but it remains to be seen whether we are readying a move.
While the likes of Declan Rice and Ben Johnson becoming first-team players should convince Leigh that he is guaranteed a pathway to senior football if he moves to West Ham, we reckon he is likely to remain with North End for now.
The second-year scholar played the first-half against Bamber Bridge, 60 minutes against St Johnstone, 67 minutes against Bolton, and 20 minutes off the bench against Accrington Stanley, and manager Frankie McAvoy’s huge show of faith in him during pre-season should convince him to sign a new contract and further his development unhindered.
In other West Ham news, Hammers are ready to offer player highly incentivised contract, Moyes wants him.
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