We can’t believe this star-studded XI who have played for Preston North End

Preston North End have made a name for themselves as a mid-table Championship club, but they’ve seen plenty of superstars at Deepdale over the years.

The club are now entering their 11th consecutive season in the second-tier and they’ve had an excellent track record of developing players during that time.

Here’s an amazing XI of familiar faces that have played for Preston North End throughout the years.

GK: Jordan Pickford

Pickford spent the first half of the 2015-16 season on loan with North End and immediately established himself as a fan favourite.

From his excellent distribution to his cat-like reflexes, it quickly became apparent that Pickford was a level above the competition.

In fact, he impressed so much during his loan spell that Sam Allardyce recalled him in January to embed him into the Sunderland squad.

Since his loan spell with Preston, Pickford has established himself as a top Premier League goalkeeper and one of England’s most crucial players of his generation.

DEF: Sepp van den Berg

Like Pickford, Preston fans could also sense that Van den Berg would go on and become a top player.

After spending a year and a half developing on loan with North End, he spent a couple of years on loan in the Bundesliga before Liverpool sold him to Brentford for £25million.

DEF: David Moyes

More known for his managerial career, Moyes ended his playing career with North End before taking charge of the club in 1998.

Under the Scottish boss, Preston won the Division Two title and were on the cusp of making it to the Premier League, but lost against Bolton Wanderers in the 2001 First Division play-off final.

Since leaving Preston in 2002, Moyes had kept close ties with the club and is regularly seen watching games as a fan from the stands.

DEF: Sam Allardyce

Like Moyes, Allardyce is more known for his managerial roles these days, but he was a cracking player himself back in the day.

During his playing career, Allardyce had two separate spells at Deepdale and made 121 appearances for the club in total.

He even briefly took charge of the club as a caretaker manager in 1992, before building up his managerial CV elsewhere.

DEF: Alvaro Fernandez Carreras

Just two years after playing for Preston, Carreras is now a Galactico having recently made a €50million switch to Real Madrid.

During his loan spell with North End, the attacking Spanish full-back immediately captured fans imaginations and became a fan favourite at the club.

Even back in 2023, we were raving about the former Manchester United loanee.

MID: Tom Finney

Considered as one of the greatest players of his generation, Finney is undoubtedly the best player to have ever played for North End.

With 473 appearances and 210 goals under his belt, Finney was truly one of a kind and his legacy is still felt within the club today.

“He was the best player I’ve ever seen, alongside Lionel Messi,” former Manchester United manager Tommy Docherty told BBC Sport.

“I watch a lot of Barcelona and when I watch Messi, I close my eyes and can see Tom. I’m serious when I say that Messi is the Tom Finney of today.

“Just like Finney, Messi is always getting fouled but doesn’t complain and just gets up and gets on with the game.”

MID: David Beckham

Before breaking into the senior squad at United, Beckham enjoyed a short loan spell with Preston in 1995.

He made quite the impression during his short stint with the club and even managed to score directly from a corner kick.

Since then, he’s established himself as one of England’s greatest ever players and is one of the most recognisable faces in the world today.

“To be honest, great memories,” Beckham told Classic Football Shirts when discussing his time with Preston.

“I arrived thinking that Manchester United didn’t want me anymore. It’s what Sir Alex Ferguson used to do, with a lot of young players who needed toughening up.

“He’d send them out to the lower leagues to get kicked around a little bit and that’s exactly what I did.

“I went there, played four or five games, scored a couple of goals, set a few up and it actually went very well.”

MID: Anthony Gordon

Unlike some of the other players on this list, Gordon hardly lit things up in a North End shirt, but he’s seriously gone to the next level since then.

Signed on loan in January 2021, the winger only made 11 appearances for the club and struggled to get a regular run in the first team.

Had you told North End fans at the time that he’d be sold for £45million just a few years later, they’d have probably laughed in your face.

However, the 24-year-old has seriously improved over the last five years and is now rightly considered as one of the best wingers in England.

FOR: Liam Delap

Like Gordon, Delap also struggled to make much of an impression while on loan with North End.

After a few tough months with Stoke, the forward joined Preston for the second half of the 2022-23 campaign. In 15 appearances, he only scored once, but did show a few flashes of quality in fairness.

Fast forward to 2025 and he’s now leading the line for Chelsea, having just won the FIFA Club World Cup. Things really can change quickly in football.

FOR: Bobby Charlton

After a glistening 17-year career with Manchester United, Charlton joined Preston in 1973 and went on to become a player-manager at the club.

Charlton’s name is synonymous with English football and while he only spent one season playing for North End, this star-studded XI would feel incomplete without him.

READ: 15 of the best quotes on Sir Bobby Charlton: ‘He epitomised Man Utd’

FOR: Danny Welbeck

While Darren Ferguson was managing Preston, he managed to convince his dad to loan him a handful of players from Manchester United.

Among those who joined the club was Welbeck, who spent the second half of the 2009-10 campaign on loan in the Championship.

In eight appearances, he scored two goals and, aged 34, is still going strong in the Premier League today for Brighton.

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