Preston North End attacking midfielder Anthony Gordon is set to face an uncertain future in the summer with his parent club Everton to make a decision on him when he returns to Goodison Park, per The Athletic.

Gordon was allowed to leave Everton in the January transfer window to sign for Preston and try and get some valuable game time in the Championship. The 20-year-old’s spell at Deepdale has not gone as well as the Toffees would have been hoping for and he has been able to make just five starts for the Lilywhites in the English second tier and 11 appearances in total.

The attacking midfielder’s chances of making a real impact have not been helped by Alex Neil’s departure as manager and he has been struggling to make it into the side under Frankie McAvoy. Gordon’s last appearance for the Lilywhites came during their 5-0 defeat at home to Brentford a few weeks ago and he has more recently been an unused substitute.

The Athletic have now reported that Everton are weighing up whether they should keep hold of the 20-year-old to provide them with greater squad depth, or look to loan him back to the Championship so that he can more game time. It is believed that the Toffees still rate him highly, despite his time at Deepdale having not gone to plan.

The verdict

It is difficult to see Gordon even being considered for a return to Preston by both parties really given he has not been able to force his way into their side. However, the attacking midfielder does not appear to have been harmed too much by his spell with the Lilywhites in terms of how Everton rate him as one for the future.

Gordon could well do with another loan move to the Championship, but Everton would have to have more assurances over his playing time to make that worthwhile next term. The 20-year-old would be eager to prove a point to Preston and show that he is worthy of regular action in the English second tier.

Preston will need to try and identify a replacement for him in the summer and try and find a better option that suits their squad a little better. The Lilywhites would have had high hopes for Gordon when he arrived, but things have not worked out and a managerial change appears to have been detrimental to him.