If there's one thing that Preston North End have been lacking to push them into the Premier League, it's that 20 goal a season striker that every Championship side craves.

It's been a source of constant frustration for the Lilywhites that they cannot seem to find that particular player, but on their budget it is always going to be a struggle unless they can unearth a gem.

The likes of Callum Robinson and Jordan Hugill have done their best to get into double figures in recent years, but they've been sold on for profit and it leaves PNE back at square one.

Once upon a time though, PNE did have prolific goalscorers in the Championship, and a few more recently in their League One stint, but where do they end up ranking in our top 10 PNE strikers since the turn of the Millennium?

Take a look at our gallery to find out - disagree? Let us know!

Iain Hume was narrowly edged out for this spot, but who can forget Beckford's scoring spree in the 2014/15 promotion season?

Beckford proved to be the catalyst for the Lilywhites returning to the Championship, although at one point it looked like he wouldn't make it for the run-in having suffered from vertigo for a month.

However once he returned to the pitch at the end of February he was a new man, scoring nine goals in 16 outings as PNE just missed out on automatic promotion - only for Beckford to score six times in three play-off games - including a play-off final hat-trick against Swindon to fire the club back into the second tier.

We can forget about Beckford's permanent spell at the club - it was marred by injuries and silly red cards which was frustrating - but what cannot be forgotten is the way he stepped up to the plate and delivered promotion almost single-handedly.

Parkin has seemingly always been a bit of a cult hero wherever he's been, simply due to the sheer size of the man - but he couldn't half play football.

The 'Beast' had only scored twice for Stoke City in the 2007/08 season, but it didn't stop North End from bringing him in and he repaid the club with 11 Championship goals that season, becoming a focal point up-front as the Lilywhites reached the play-off places - Parkin scored on the final day of the campaign to help them get there.

He hit double figures again the following season and although the club were struggling in the first half of the 2010/11 campaign, Parkin had netted seven goals in 19 outings to show he was a real force at that level.

His North End career ended surprisingly in January 2011 when Cardiff came in for him, but his impact at Deepdale make him well-worthy of a place on this list.

Robinson did play a lot out wide for North End, but he also played as a striker as well and even as a winger he was often in central positions for his goals.

In his first loan spell at Deepdale in 2014/15, Robinson didn't look like he was going to be a prolific goalscorer, but fast forward a couple of years and things had changed.

Robinson had signed for PNE permanently in 2016 and Simon Grayson managed to get double figures out of him in the Championship, scoring 10 times in his first full season and in Robinson's third and final full campaign at Deepdale, he netted 12 times in 27 games despite missing four months with a hamstring injury.

It wasn't a surprise to see Sheffield United come in for him in the summer of 2019 to give him his Premier League break - he's certainly reaping the rewards at West Brom right now but it was North End who developed him into this player.

Healy may not be well-liked in Preston anymore following his move to Leeds United in 2004, however his contributions before that makes him number seven on this list.

The Northern Irish striker was a club-record deal for PNE at the time at £1.5 million, and he certainly backed himself with goals.

He scored nine times in 22 games as North End narrowly missed out on Premier League promotion in his first half-season, and he went on to hit two double-figure league scoring campaigns in 2001/02 and 2003/04.

Just months after winning PNE's Player of the Year award though, Healy wanted a move away and he got his wish when Leeds came calling - he had waved to their fans just weeks before his Deepdale exit when the two clubs met at Elland Road and then celebrated wildly when they met again and he scored twice for Leeds.

Healy almost made a shock return to Deepdale in 2012, but then-manager Graham Westley decided against it due to the fan backlash - showing he was still much-maligned amongst supporters.

If Garner could have done it at Championship level then he would have been much higher on this list.

Every PNE fan wants a fan of the club to be the one to fire the goals in for them, and that's exactly what Garner was - although he took a while to get going.

Once the first goal came in August 2013 though - some seven months after his Lilywhites debut - he never looked back, scoring 18 times in 35 League One outings in the 2013/14 campaign and in the promotion-winning following season, Garner banged in 25 goals in 37 matches.

A prolific player indeed but he was soon found out by Championship defenders - although his 10-goals season with Ipswich a few seasons later suggested that maybe it was Simon Grayson's system that was the problem.

Garner took the chance to move to Rangers in 2016 with the blessing of the fans and he's certainly one of the best of recent times to put on the white shirt.

Coming into a club at the back end of a promotion-challenging season is never easy, but Cresswell managed to battle with both Healy and Jon Macken as they came within 90 minutes of Premier League football in 2001.

Cresswell ended up signing permanently for North End that summer and in three of his next four seasons, he netted double figures in goals in the second tier - there was one outlying season in 2003/04 where he scored just twice in 45 outings - but for the most part he was very consistent.

A very hard-working striker who formed partnerships with the likes of Healy, Ricardo Fuller and David Nugent, Cresswell could be seen as under-rated to many, and he continued to score goals for both Stoke City and Sheffield United following his Deepdale departure in 2005.

Hugill was a real money-spinner for North End in January 2018 when he was sold to West Ham United for £10 million - something that PNE fans would have laughed at if you'd told them it would happen a few years prior.

The striker was a cheap punt from Port Vale in the summer of 2014 - with Simon Grayson seeing something in the former barman that he felt he could get the best out of.

Grayson eventually did get goals out of Hugill after a couple of seasons of learning and development - he netted 12 times in the 2016/17 campaign and attracted interest from other Championship clubs.

Hugill was set to hit double figures once again the following season, having scored eight at the halfway stage, but the bid from West Ham came in and Hugill was no longer a Lilywhite - but his impact was immense for his final year and a half at Deepdale.

It's a shame how Nugent's second spell at Deepdale has gone, as he's a cult hero following the exploits of his first stint.

A £100,000 pick-up from Bury in January 2005, Nugent's impact was immediate as he stepped up two levels to fire in eight goals in his first half-season in the Championship.

Nugent continued his decent scoring run the following season with 10 strikes as PNE lost out in the play-off semi-finals, but he was destined for the Premier League in the summer of 2007 after a 15-goal season and a first cap for England - which resulted in a goal against Andorra.

His career in the top flight never really took off, but what a player he was for North End with his pace and scoring ability.

In terms of pure scoring ability, Macken might be the best striker that North End have had since the year 2000.

He came in from Manchester United in 1997 and ended up forming a goalscoring partnership with Kurt Nogan in the Second Division, but came into his own when the Welshman departed and his goals helped North End into the First Division in 2000.

Stepping up a level was no issue for Macken as he led the line for PNE all the way up to the Millennium Stadium for the play-off final in 2001 against Bolton.

And after a somewhat less-than prolific season by by his standards in 2001/02,  he was courted by some bigger clubs and Man City swooped in with a £5 million bid, which saw the end of Macken's time at Deepdale.

Between the first day of the Millennium and his departure, Macken netted 36 goals in 93 league outings for PNE - a proper scorer.

Is there anyone in the 21st century that has dazzled PNE fans with his skill quite as much as Fuller?

Aiden McGeady would have to be up there, but as a striker Fuller was almost the complete package - his footwork, his dribbling, his strength and most important - he could score goals.

A run of nine goals in 17 outings following his 2002 signing prompted Liverpool to make a move for the Jamaican just a few months into his Deepdale stint, but a knee injury ended his season and scuppered a dream transfer.

Fuller returned the following season though and scored 17 goals in 38 outings and that form got him a Premier League move to Portsmouth, although it wasn't quite for the fee which would have taken him to Anfield.

There's a special place in many PNE fans hearts for Fuller and many would agree he's the best striker to don the lilywhite shirt in this century.