Former Crewe Alexandra midfielder Lewis Leigh is expected to turn down a contract offer to stay at Championship side Preston North End this summer, hence allowing him to leave the football club in search of a fresh start elsewhere.
The 20-year-old enjoyed two successful loan spells away from Deepdale last season and featured at Wembley Stadium in the League Two play-off final but suffered a heartbreaking end to a strong loan stint in the Midlands.
However, off the back of his loan spells away from the club, Preston North End opted to offer Leigh a contract extension with the Championship outfit but that is set to be turned down.
Confirming the news during an interview with the Lancashire Post, the club’s director Peter Ridsdale stated…
“I don’t think he will stay.
“I think he thinks he is worth probably more and will go straight into somebody else’s first team. But, we have given him the option of staying and he might be a member of the squad – which is up to him.
“Or, he might have to go out on loan if he wants to play every week. We thought it was valuable to give him an offer to stay. I don’t know, we’ll need to see what happens. My gut feeling at the moment is that it’s unlikely, but let’s see.”
How did Leigh fair at Crewe last season?
Leigh made a brief appearance for Preston North End during their EFL Cup defeat against League Two side Salford City, before joining National League side Bromley on loan.
During his four-month stint with Andy Woodman’s side, Leigh made 12 league appearances for the club, starting nine times and providing three assists.
In January, Leigh returned to Preston before being snapped up by League Two side Crewe Alexandra on loan for the remainder of the campaign.
With Crewe, Leigh made an additional 14 league appearances, providing one assist whilst featuring in two of their three play-off matches, being used as a substitute during the final against Crawley Town in which his side fell to defeat.
What’s next for Leigh?
Preston’s director appears to confirm that Leigh’s move to turn down a new deal is based on game time with the comment that he “will go straight into someone else’s first team”.
Therefore, given Leigh featured regularly for both Bromley and Crewe, you could create an argument that the 20-year-old may look to return to League Two ahead of the 2024/25 campaign.
Location wise there is Barrow, Carlisle and Fleetwood all in League Two within the local area of Preston. However, both of his loan spells saw him move further down the country, which opens multiple avenues for the player to explore this summer.