Aston Villa have confirmed that Lewis Dobbin has joined Preston North End on a season-long loan deal.
The 22-year-old was signed from Everton last summer but went on to spend last season on loan at West Bromwich Albion and Norwich City, as he totalled two goals in 29 appearances.
READ MORE: Ex-Villa ace posts classy farewell message after exit confirmed
Naturally, he’s nowhere near competing for a place in Unai Emery’s squad yet as he must prove he’s capable of delivering on a consistent basis at a high level, and so as per the club’s official statement, the forward has now joined Preston on loan for the season.
It’s a sensible move from Villa as Dobbin needs to play regularly, develop and improve his game and in turn prove that he’s ready to make that next step and be part of our long-term plans.
Villa could certainly do with more firepower in the final third to provide depth and competition for Ollie Watkins up top, but Dobbin isn’t there yet, and it’s hoped that he can return as a much-improved player next summer off the back of a successful loan stint with Preston.
That said, we’ve also seen the club use a key transfer strategy over the past couple of years of signing young talent, loaning them out to help them develop and increase their value before cashing in and using those fees to help balance our books.
Ultimately, that can’t be ruled out as a possible path for Dobbin going forward, but at this stage, he must focus on the opportunity ahead of him and make the most of it before a decision is made on his future next summer when he returns to Villa.
It’s been a busy summer for the club in terms of outgoings as we’ve had to manage our finances carefully and reduce our wage bill in order to comply with PSR and UEFA’s SCR rules, and so while Dobbin might not have a major impact in terms of lowering the wages spent, he could be an important asset moving forward with the club hoping to make a profit on him in the next 12 months or so.
Want more Villa analysis? TalkVilla+ has now launched! Subscribe below for ad-free newsletters, exclusive articles and much more. The TalkVilla podcast is also now live, have a listen, and subscribe if you enjoy on Apple Podcasts or YouTube. UTV!