The summer arrivals of Craig Bellamy and Dirk Kuyt pushed Mellor into fifth – possibly sixth if you factor in Luis Garcia – place among Liverpool’s strikers. Not a good situation for a 23 year old needy of regular football to progress. And whilst he might have not been exactly looking for a move, it was probably the best solution.
As will be playing in the Championship, even if the player himself might feel that he is ready to play in the Premiership. At Preston he is joining an ambitious club that is slowly building a reputation for attractive football and a squad full of youthful talent. If he has truly recovered from the injuries that have kept him out for the majority of the past two seasons, he should easily prove that he can score goals at this level.
How Mellor, who remains an avid Liverpool fan, will get on with staunch Evertonion Dave Nugent will be crucial. Both are instinctive strikers and, if they hit it off, Preston should have one of the best forward lines in the division. The worrying alternative is that they prove to be too similar to each other which would probably indicate that Simpson bought Mellor in anticipation of Nugent’s departure.
