Preston North End have secured the future of Jacob Slater after the teenager penned his first professional deal to keep him at Deepdale until at least the summer of 2025.
The 17-year-old was a key player in the Under-19s’ title-winning campaign last season and has impressed boss Ryan Lowe during pre-season, leading to a first-team debut against Huddersfield Town in the Carabao Cup in August, while he has been a regular in the travelling squad for Sky Bet Championship fixtures.
Slater told the club website: “The last two months or so have been brilliant for me and I never really expected it to all come this quick but I’m really happy to get it over the line and I just want to continue trying to progress now.
“I definitely didn’t expect to be here, it all happened really quickly, I was playing with the youth team and then two weeks later I was making my debut for the first team.
“I think that’s credit to the gaffer for giving young kids the pathway and they know now that they have got a manager that will play them if they are doing well and I think that Preston North End is a brilliant place for a young player to be.”
Manager Ryan Lowe added: “I’m really pleased for Jacob, credit to him and his family really, he’s obviously burst on the scene from the youth team and he’s come up and trained with us for large parts of the season and stood out fantastically well.
“He made his debut in the cup, was on the bench in the Championship and we feel he’s got a decent career ahead of him at Preston North End, hence why we wanted to tie him down to a long-term contract.
“This is why we say to all the kids that they have to make a very good impression when the manager or the first team coaching staff are watching, you have to make sure you perform. Jacob did perform in that Charnock Richard game and ever since then he’s been up with us and he’s continued to progress on a daily basis and hasn’t looked out of place.
“We know he’s a real asset and he’s one we’re really pleased to have tied down.”
