Preston North End’s young midfielder Jack Baxter is looking to repay the faith of manager Alex Neil after signing a new two-and-a-half-year deal with the club.
The 19-year-old has put pen to paper on an extension to his professional contract until at least the summer of 2022 and he feels that he is in the best place to learn and develop as a player.
“It is good that the manager has put his faith in me and it is now my turn to repay him and start showing results, breaking into the team and making an impact,” he told PNE.Com.
“I have come into a different environment – a higher level – but it is a good team to come into, with a lot of good players, people you can learn from and it is good group to be in, especially with where they are in the league and the sort of football they play.
“You have to learn from the players around you. There are some great players, with a lot of good experience, but there is also a lot of youth in the team as well and it is good to try and emulate what they have done; look at how they play and try and bring that to my game.”
He also feels that like Ben Davies before him and fellow young player Jack Armer, currently having a successful loan spell at high-flying Lancaster City, the opportunity to go out and play some men’s football could also be a good learning curve.
“I would be up for going out on loan,” he continued. “To get the experience of playing men’s football would, I think, help me develop as a player and help my game.
“It would be a different experience, something new; a different type of football to what I have been used to playing and that would give me an example of ‘real’ football.”
Baxter is the another of a growing group of youngsters to come through the Academy at the Deepdale.
Ben Davies, Mathew Hudson, Adam O’Reilly and most recently Ethan Walker are all graduates of Nick Harrison’s set up, and as a proud local lad, Jack is delighted to be part of that group.
“It is good to see so many players now coming through. It shows the level the Academy is at and shows we are producing good young players and is moving in the right direction.
“I am proud to be part of it. I have grown up watching this team, it is good to be a part of it and it is a good club to be at and an exciting time to be involved.
“The team are doing really well, pushing for a promotion spot and I have a real belief they can do it,” he added.