Preston North End are delighted to confirm the signing of striker Layton Stewart from Liverpool for an undisclosed fee.
The 20-year-old has signed a three-year deal at Deepdale and could make his debut for the club in Saturday’s pre-season friendly against Aberdeen.
Layton had been with Liverpool since the age of seven, progressing through the ranks at Anfield and scoring consistently at each level of youth football.
Layton said: “I’m delighted to be here. It’s another step in my career, on my journey, so I think it’s the right move for my development to try and get some first team football.
“I’m delighted it’s a permanent because I can get settled in, start to find my feet and I can’t wait to meet the lads and play.
“I’ve scored at youth level but I’ve got to take it into a first team environment now and try and do it for Preston in the games that I play in.
“I need to be with the lads and try and find my feet fast. It’s a big opportunity but it’s a good one for me to develop and obviously I need time, but hopefully I can do what I’ve done over the past few years.”
Layton penned his first professional deal with Liverpool in February 2020 and made his senior bow for the Reds in a Carabao Cup tie against Derby County in front of over 52,000 fans at Anfield.
The forward – who often played alongside PNE midfielder Ben Woodburn with Liverpool – had a fantastic season in Premier League 2 in the 2022/23 campaign, scoring 11 goals in 17 matches.
Manager Ryan Lowe said: “Layton’s a player I’ve monitored and known for many years at Liverpool and I’m really glad we’ve got him in on a permanent deal.
“It’s important to have one of our own and tied down to a long-term contract so we can really develop him and hopefully turn him into a top player.
“What I will say is we’ll take our time with him and build him up. He’ll need to get used to Championship football so I don’t want to put too much pressure on him from the outset, but we’re really excited to have him here.
“He’s a fox in the box and more importantly he’s a real goalscorer. He’ll learn loads here and we feel we can get him in the right areas to give him the chances we know he can put away.”