Preston North End will come up against a familiar face in Callum Robinson when they take on table-topping West Bromwich Albion on Tuesday.
Robinson, who is currently on loan at the Baggies from Sheffield United, played 149 times for the Lilywhites between 2014 and 2019.
He scored 12 league goals in his final season with Alex Neil’s side before sealing a move to the newly-promoted Blades in the summer.
Robinson spoke to the PNE Podcast about his time at PNE and the close bonds he built with the club’s players and staff, particularly with fellow podcast guest Daniel Johnson.
And Callum praised his former team-mate, who he rose through the ranks with at Aston Villa.
He told host Jonathan Breeze on the podcast: “DJ’s got so much talent, he’s such a good footballer and he’s been at that level now I think for the last four or five years.
“He’s been a top, top player – at Aston Villa you could see the potential, he was always around the first team quite early on and this season it’s clicked for him much more than the other ones with more goals etc. and I’m really happy for him.
“I spoke to him in pre-season and I had a feeling that it was going to be his season to really get his goals and assists. He’s proved me right so I’m really happy for him.”
Tuesday’s clash with the Baggies will be the first time Robinson has faced North End since he left the club last summer.
And he explained that whilst he is expecting there to be some emotion present on the day, he is hoping for an exciting game.
“It’s obviously nice to know the boys are still watching out for me like I do with PNE,” he said.
“I always watch their games if they’re on Sky or always on highlights etc, because they are your friends at the end of the day. You get that bond with the boys because I was there so long, so I’m always watching out for them.
“It’s obviously nice that they are watching out for me and next Tuesday it’s going to be quite emotional, but hopefully an exciting game.”
Listen to more from Callum on the latest episode of The Official PNE Podcast on iTunes, Spotify and SoundCloud!