Arsenal’s young striker Stephy Mavididi has joined Preston North End for the 2017/18 season.
The 19-year-old has made the move as he looks to play regularly and develop, something he is unlikely to be able to do in the Arsenal first-team this season due to the number of attacking options at Arsène Wenger’s disposal.
The official club website announced the move for the player who has already scored three goals in two pre-season games for the U23s.
Stephy’s first opportunity to make his debut will be on Tuesday 8th August, as he was signed too late to take part in the match against Sheffield Wednesday on Saturday.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rx4fbmU1eqc
Preston boss Alex Neil seemed glad to have Stephy in the team, telling the Preston website: “He’ll bring pace and a directness from either a wider area or a central nine. I think he’s a perfect fit for us, certainly in terms of attributes that we like to have in the team.”
For the player himself, it represents a good opportunity to bounce back after his injury towards the end of last season, which Ian Wright helped him through. Before that, he was having another strong year with the youth teams, scoring six goals and adding two assists in his 11 league appearances.
From there, Mavididi managed to secure a loan to Charlton, but after only three starts playing on the left his time was cut short by a bad hamstring injury, which forced him to return to Arsenal and focus on recovery.
Stephy sees this loan as his second chance to prove himself, telling to the Preston website: “I went on loan in January and I really wanted to kick on but unfortunately I got injured so this is another opportunity to show people what I can do and I can’t wait to get started.”
Taking the number 27 shirt at Deepdale, where Arsenal played a third-round FA Cup tie last season, Mavididi just seems to be happy to have the next year sorted out.
“I’m delighted to get it over the line, I’m happy to sign and now I’m ready to kick on for the new season,” Mavididi said after signing.
“I can’t wait to get started and I can’t wait to meet the lads and crack on – let’s go and do good things this season.”