Midfielder Ben Pearson has agreed a new three-and-a-half-year deal with the Lilywhites.

The Oldham-born No.4 signed at Deepdale just under 12 months ago from Manchester United and has become a mainstay of the North End engine room in recent months.





Ben, 22 next Wednesday, has signed a deal that takes him to the end of the 2019/2020 season with the club with whom he has so far made 31 appearances, scoring once in the home win over Aston Villa in October.





Speaking about agreeing a new contract he said: “It is what you work for as a footballer; to earn the contracts to enable you to keep playing football. Working hard and biding my time has paid off for me since the start of the season.





“I have worked hard for 15 years to get to this point. I am really happy here and enjoying my football, playing well and playing every week; so it was the obvious next step for me to secure my long term future with Preston North End.”





Manager Simon Grayson feels that the player has earned the contract with his displays since coming back into the side at the end of September.





“Since he has come into the team Ben has probably been our most consistent and best performer. As a club we reward the players quickly and we want to tie down our younger players.

“We think he has got huge potential and it's a reward for him, but ultimately he has to make sure he doesn't stand still now.





“He will need to progress and bring other things into his game, understand the game even more, but also keep that desire and quality that he has got because that has played a big part in his success so far,” added the North End boss."



