One to Watch – Callum Robinson

Name: Callum Robinson
Date of Birth: 02/02/1995
Previous Clubs: Aston Villa, Preston (L), Bristol City (L), Preston (L), Preston (L)
Apps (Goals) 80 (14)

After an impressive 11th place finish last season on their return to the second tier following promotion from League One the previous year, Simon Grayson`s Preston side are producing another solid campaign this time out as they sit in 10th spot, eight points off the top six ahead of QPR`s visit to Deepdale this weekend.

Undefeated in four, the Lilywhites players are in a good run of form, and will head into this match with plenty of confidence, one of those in particular being attacker Callum Robinson, who has two goals in his last three matches, and his permanent signing from Aston Villa is proving a shrewd piece of business from Grayson.

Having spent three previous loan spells with the club, the 22-year-old put pen to paper on a three-year-deal at Preston in the summer for an undisclosed compensation package after rejecting the option to stay at Villa after his contract had run down, seeing him leave the club where he had played football since the age of eight.

Robinson made five appearances in total for the Midlands club, all coming from the bench during the 2013/2014 season, the first of which was a 4-0 League Cup home defeat to Tottenham in September 2013, followed by late Premier League cameos at home to Southampton, and away to Swansea, Man City and Spurs.

To gain first-team experience, he made the first of his two loan spells to Preston the following season, initially for two months in September 2014, before returning for the remainder of the campaign in February 2015, and his four league goals helped the side finish third, before their promotion to the Championship via the play-offs.

Robinson would be on the move again at the start of last season, joining Bristol City on loan for the first half of the campaign, where he scored once in seven league outings for the Robins, before returned to Deepdale for a third spell in January last year, finding the net twice from 15 matches in all competitions for the Lilywhites.

After the uncertainty of relegation for Aston Villa, and a number of big-money signings coming into the club, Robinson saw his future elsewhere, and after three previous enjoyable spells at Preston across two seasons, he opted to move to the club on a permanent basis on a three-year deal after more than 10 years at Villa.

Only fellow strike partner Jordan Hugill has notched more goals than him this term with 10, compared to Robinson`s nine, eight of which have come in the league, and seven of which have come on home soil, including strikes in each of his last two home matches, both of which ended in victories for Grayson`s men.

Robinson also found himself on the scoresheet within seven minutes of the side`s FA Cup third round home tie against Arsenal, giving the side the lead, only for the Gunners to emerge 2-1 victors, and this week it was been reported that he would be eligible to play for the Republic of Ireland, after representing England at youth level.

Whether the player himself is looking to switch allegiance is not confirmed, but should he declare an interest in playing for Martin O`Neill`s men, his form this season would certainly warrant a visit to Deepdale by O`Neill, and with Rangers without a clean sheet in seven, he`ll be confident of netting for a third home game in a row.