Preston North End will be forced to play the waiting game in their bid to sign Jayson Molumby permanently from Brighton and Hove Albion. 

The 21-year-old midfielder has recently joined the Lilywhites on a temporary deal, with his five appearances across all competitions impressive.

Alex Neil has revealed that Preston initially wanted to do a permanent deal for the player but that didn't materialise and he ended up with North End on loan.

Quiz: Did each of these 18 ex-Preston North End players ever score a goal at Deepdale?

 

In fact, Preston are in a similar position with Brighton to the one that Leeds United found themselves in last season with Ben White. He was on loan from Brighton and impressing in the Championship, but the Seagulls would not commit to a permanent deal.

The future of Molumby has now been discussed by Brighton boss, Graham Potter, who has issued his view on talk of Preston signing the player permanently.

As per Sussex Live, he said: "I think it is a normal thing to someone to say when they have got a loan player because Alex believes in the player. 

"For us, Jayson recently signed a contract, it is important for him to play football, he expressed that desire to play regularly and that is what he is doing now.

"The job is to then assess how that has gone and see where his development is, take the right decision for him and for the club.

"But we will do that at the end of the season. There is no doubt that Jayson is going to have a really, really good career.

"We believe in him, so we are just letting him play his football like Ben White did last year at Leeds United.

"It can be important for the guys to go and play and get regular football."

In total, Molumby has made only five senior appearances for Brighton, with Preston now overseeing his development following a loan stint with Millwall.

The Verdict 

This is a very familiar message coming out of Brighton.

They were eager to play down talk of White joining Leeds last season on a permanent deal and we find ourselves in the same situation this year with Molumby.

For what it is worth, there's a difference in quality between White and Molumby, but the latter is still a good player and looking impressive.

It will be interesting to see what Brighton's stance is in the summer if bidding starts.

Thoughts? Let us know!