Preston North End will be needing to do a lot of reflecting at the end of the campaign with the Lilywhites having not been able to kick on during a difficult season.

Alex Neil’s side headed into the campaign aiming to challenge for a place in the Championship’s top-six, with them having fallen out of the play-off positions during the end-of-season run-in last season. However, Preston have found consistent results and performances hard to come by and there have been a number of infuriating results along the way.

There will be a lot of scrutiny placed on Neil in the next few weeks and months and Preston will need to show they can have a strong ending to the campaign for him to be confident of keeping his job. The Lilywhites are going to finish in mid-table so it might be a good time to hand some minutes to some of the club’s young players coming through to see if they can make an impact.

With that in mind, we have put together a list of the Lilywhites’ youngest ever goalscorers and taken a look at how their careers progressed after bursting onto the scene. Click ‘next’ to scroll through this list…

Coming in at number ten on this list of Preston’s youngest ever scorers is forward Jamie Proctor. He managed to net his first goal for the Lilywhites at the age of just 19 years 01 month 12 days.

Proctor’s first major career goal came for Preston during what was an uncharacteristic 3-1 win at home against Watford on the final day of the 2010/11 season. The Lilywhites had already been relegated to the third tier, so this win was only a small consolation to supporters. There was the added bonus though of Proctor scoring his first professional goal with a late third after being set up by Keith Treacy.

The following season Proctor was handed chances to impress in League One with him making 31 appearances in League One. He started well, but then suffered a hernia injury and could only register three goals as the Lilywhites endured a difficult campaign in which ended up in 15th place in the table. Premier League Swansea City then made a move for the striker in August 2012.

The forward spent three unsuccessful years with the Swans failing to make an impact at all, before a move to Crawley Town got his career going again and he scored 13 goals in 62 games. Spells with Fleetwood Town, Bradford City and Rotherham United have followed and he is currently on loan at Wigan Athletic from the Millers.

In ninth place on this list is winger Will Hayhurst who makes this list after managing to register his first goal for Preston at the age of just 18 years 11 months 30 days.

Hayhurst’s first-ever Preston goal came during a meeting with Swindon Town in League One back in February 2013, with the Lilywhites taking the lead at the County Ground with the winger scoring the first goal of manager Simon Grayson’s tenure. However, it did not prove to be enough for them to claim all three points with Adam Rooney scoring an equaliser as the points were shared.

The winger went on to make 25 appearances in total for Preston during that 2012/13 season in which he scored four goals in total. The following campaign Hayhurst was only able to make ten appearances in all competitions and had a spell on loan with York City. He then made just a further 11 appearances in the first half of 2014/15.

In January 2015 Hayhurst was signed by Notts County on an 18-month deal, but he would only make 12 goalless appearances for the club before moving to Warrington Town. He is currently playing with Farsley Celtic where he has been since 2018.

In at eighth place on this list is a player who has had a much larger impact around Deepdale than both Proctor and Hayhurst, with Alan Browne making this list for scoring his first goal for the club at the age of just 18 years 11 months 28 days.

Browne’s first goal for the Lilywhites was scored during a meeting with Carlisle United in League One at Deepdale in April 2014. The versatile midfielder managed to tap in from close range to put Simon Grayson’s side into a 2-0 lead inside just ten minutes. That helped his side go on to record a resounding 6-1 win that helped them cement their top-six position as they finished 5th that season.

The following campaign saw Browne start to establish himself as a crucial member of the squad at Deepdale. The midfielder made 32 appearances in all competitions and scored three goals as the club secured promotion to the Championship. The 25-year-old has made no fewer than 30 appearances in the league for the club in each of the last five seasons.

The midfielder enjoyed excellent scoring seasons in 2017/8 and 2018/19 scoring nine and 12 goals respectively in those campaigns as Alex Neil played him further up the pitch. So far this term, Browne has scored three goals in 32 Championship appearances at the time of writing.

In seventh place on this list is a player who only spent a short-term spell on loan with the Lilywhites, with Andy Carroll managing to show his potential by scoring for Preston at the age of just 18 years 10 months 00 days.

Carroll’s goal came during Preston’s clash at Deepdale against Leicester City in November 2007, with the powerful forward managing to score his first goal for the club since his arrival on loan from Newcastle United in the summer of 2007 with a header from a Kevin Nicholls free-kick delivery. That gave the Lilywhites the lead inside 14 minutes, which was ultimately cancelled out by DJ Campbell.

That proved to be the only goal that Carroll would score during his 11 Preston appearances with his six-month loan spell coming to an end in January 2008. He returned to Newcastle and eventually established himself as a first-team regular scoring 19 goals in the Championship in their 2009/10 promotion-winning campaign, before leaving for £35 million to Liverpool in January 2011.

He spent just one full season with Liverpool and managed to score 11 goals in 58 appearances for the Reds. A move to West Ham followed where he spent six seasons scoring 34 goals in 142 games. He re-signed for Newcastle in the summer of 2018 and remains with the Magpies at the moment.

In at number six on this list is the now well-travelled Jeffrey Monakana, who makes this list after scoring his first senior goal for the Lilywhites at the age of just 18 years 09 months 23 days.

Monakana scored his first goal for Preston during a League Cup tie against Crystal Palace back in August 2012, with him managing to score with a memorable strike to put the Lilywhites into a 3-1 lead. They eventually ran out 4-1 winners against their Championship opponents in what was a very rare good night for the club during Graham Westley’s ill-fated spell in charge.

The 27-year-old went on to 47 appearances for the Lilywhites during that 2012/13 breakthrough campaign and he managed to score six goals during those matches. Hopes were high he could be a star for the future at Deepdale. However, after a short loan spell with Colchester United in 2013/14, Brighton signed him for an undisclosed fee in January 2014.

He would not be able to make an impact at all during his time with Brighton and after being sent out on five different loan spells in his spell with the Seagulls he made the move to Romanian side FC Voluntari in January 2016. Spells with the likes of Sutton United, Welling United and Wealdstone have followed, and he is now with Iceland side Fjölnir.

In at number five on this list is another player who like Andy Carroll managed to make this list whilst on a short-term loan spell with the club, scoring his first goal for the Lilywhites at the age of just 18 years 08 months 21 days.

Aneke managed to score his first goal for the Lilywhites during a meeting with Bury in League One at Deepdale in March 2012. The forward managed to register the opening goal of the game for the Lilywhites as they aimed to secure a rare win in the latter half of the 2011/12 season. However, Bury would score a late equaliser to deny them all three points.

That was the attacker’s only goal for the club during his short loan spell in which he ended up making just seven appearances in League One. Aneke then spent the following two campaigns on loan with Crewe Alexandra from Arsenal in which he scored eight and 16 goals in League One respectively.

A move to Belgian side Zulte Waregem followed and he made 41 appearances in all competitions during his time with them managing to score four goals. Before he moved to MK Dons and managed to score 33 goals in 94 appearances in three seasons. In the summer of 2019, he signed for Charlton Athletic where he still remains and has scored 12 goals this term at the time of writing.

In at fourth place on this list is Michael Keane, who makes this list having managed to fire in his ever goal for the Lilywhites at the age of just 18 years 07 months 29 days.

Keane managed to score his first-ever league goal for the Lilywhites during a First Division encounter with Wimbledon at Deepdale back in August 2001. The 38-year-old managed to register an important equaliser for Preston on the day in the 64th minute after they had fallen behind in the first half to an effort from Wimbledon forward Neil Shipperley.

During his four-year spell at Deepdale as part of the senior squad, Keane managed to make 56 appearances in total and scored three goals during that time. He also spent time out on loan with Grimsby Town in 2003 where he scored two goals in seven appearances. Before Hull City managed to secure a permanent move for him in June 2004.

He scored just three goals for Hull in his 20 appearances before signing permanently for Rotherham United in 2005 after a short loan spell with the Millers. Keane made 57 appearances for the Yorkshire club and retired from the game following a brief spell with St Patricks Athletic.

Like both Andy Carroll and Chuks Aneke, forward Josh King makes this list having scored his first goal for the Lilywhites during a loan spell at Deepdale. He managed to register his first goal for the club at the age of just 18 years 06 months 26 days.

King managed to score his first goal during his loan spell with Preston in a meeting away against Stockport County in a League Cup tie in August 2010. It was a resounding win for the Lilywhites with them running out 5-0 winners to avoid any sort of cup upset and the Norway international managed to add a late fifth from the bench to round of a comfortable victory.

During his loan spell from Manchester United, King was not able to score in any of his eight Championship appearances, and he was recalled by his parent club following Darren Ferguson’s dismissal as manager and the club eventually went on to be relegated to League One that campaign.

The next few years saw King take in loan spells with the likes of Borussia Mönchengladbach, Hull City and Blackburn Rovers before he eventually signed permanently for the latter in January 2013. He scored eight goals in 74 appearances before making a move to Bournemouth in 2015. However, he eventually left the Championship club this January for Everton after scoring 53 goals in 184 appearances.

In second place on this list is midfielder Matty James who is the latest player on this list to be included after scoring his first goal for the Lilywhites during a loan spell at Deepdale. That goal came when he was aged just 18 years 06 months 18 days.

James managed to score his first-ever senior goal for the Lilywhites during a Championship encounter at home against Sheffield United in February 2010. The midfielder scored just ten minutes into his debut for the club with an effort from 20-yeards out which was deflected into the goal to give the Lilywhites an early lead and they eventually ran out 2-1 winners.

The midfielder made 18 appearances in total during his loan spell with Preston in the second half of the 2009/10 season and he would add one more further goal to his one against Sheffield United. He then made the move back to Deepdale at the start of the 2010/11 campaign but made just 12 appearances and scored one goal in his second spell.

In the summer of 2012, he left Manchester United for Leicester City and helped them earn promotion in 2013/14 scoring once in 40 appearances. However, a host of injury issues have limited his playing time with the foxes over the last six seasons. He has had loan spells with the likes of Barnsley and now Coventry City during that time.

Coming in at first place and currently, Preston’s youngest ever goalscorer is midfielder Josh Brownhill, who managed to register his first goal for the Lilywhites at the age of just  17 years 10 months 00 days.

Brownhill managed to score his first goal for the club during a meeting away at Gillingham in League One in October 2013. The midfielder managed to put the Lilywhites into a 2-0 lead at the Priestfield Stadium inside 53 minutes with him managing to side foot home after really good work by Stuart Beavon to set him up. The hosts pulled one back but Preston held on for a 2-1 win.

The midfielder would enjoy a good time in the rest of the 2013/14 season managing to finish the campaign with three goals in 30 appearances. The following campaign he managed to score two goals in 18 League One matches as he helped the Lilywhites earn promotion back to the Championship. He spent time on loan with Barnsley in 2015/16 before a permanent switch to Bristol City in the summer of 2016.

He was an impressive performer in his three-and-a-half seasons with the Robins managing to make 161 appearances and score 17 goals and even being named club captain. Burnley made a permanent move for him in January 2020 and he has established himself as a key player in the Premier League at Turf Moor since.