Two years after leaving Liverpool, striker Liam Millar returned to England and helped his new team reach the top of the Championship on his debut.
Millar spent five years on Merseyside after impressing in Fulham’s academy, starting against Shrewsbury in their 2020 FA Cup fourth round replay win.
But the summer of 2021 brought a move to Switzerland, to Basel, with which he made 98 appearances, scoring thirteen times and assisting another ten.
On deadline day, Millar then returned to England for a season-long loan spell at Preston, with his starting debut in Saturday’s match with Plymouth Argyle.
It took the 23-year-old just 25 minutes to score his first goal for North End, which proved to be the winner in the 2-1 win.
Millar had already assisted the opening goal for Duane Holmes – his cross hit Conor Hazard’s fingertips before heading home within 37 seconds – when his chance materialised.
With Milutin Osmajic finding the Canadian on the left wing, Millar entered the penalty area and cut to the right before finishing on goal.
Despite Ryan Hardie’s goal for Plymouth in the second half, Preston managed to hold on to the three points, putting them back at the top of the Championship.
Ryan Lowe’s side are now the only unbeaten team in the English second division, ahead of Leicester and Ipswich with five wins and a draw in six games.
It appears Millar, who counts Liverpool loanee Calvin Ramsay and fellow alumni Ben Woodburn and Layton Stewart as teammates, will play a leading role in the future.
“It’s been a dream start for me, I’m really excited to see what’s next in a Preston shirt,” Millar, who was named Man of the Match, said after the match.
“I really hope it stays like this and starts on Tuesday [against Birmingham].”
Of his league debut, he added: “It was good. It was fast and intense, I had a little cramp at the end, but everything is fine.
“Just a quick match and it was very different from Switzerland, but I think it suits me better and I’m looking forward to continuing.”
