Ryan Lowe makes huge statement about 25-year-old Preston North End player

Preston held high-flying Nottingham Forest to a draw in midweek and one player that came out of the fixture fielding praise from manager Ryan Lowe was Ben Whiteman.

The new PNE boss has been heavy reliant on the former Doncaster man in the centre of the field since he took over and he has impressed with a good range of passing, excellent vision and a superb set-piece ability to boot. Now, Lowe has claimed to LancsLive that he feels the 25-year-old can end up as one of the ‘best number fours in the division.’

Whiteman has been one of, if not the, most consistent and regular players in the Preston team so far this season. With 32 league appearances, only Sepp van den Berg, Daniel Iversen and Emil Riis have managed more this campaign.

With four goals and four assists too – as well as plenty of key passes and tackles along the way – he has cemented himself as one of the first names on the teamsheet for the Lilywhites. Under Ryan Lowe he is continuing to thrive and he appears to be one of the manager’s most trusted players since he took over.

In fact, the boss has heaped even more praise on Whiteman this afternoon after his performance in PNE’s draw with Nottingham Forest. He had more passes and tackles than anyone on the field against Steve Cooper’s side and was arguably one of the best players involved in the game.

Now, Lowe has revealed to LancsLive that he feels the 25-year-old could end up as one of the best in his position in the entire league. He said after the game: “I took them [Ben Whiteman and Brad Potts] off [on Saturday] purely for the matter that it was for the team.

“I had to change it because I felt Ben wasn’t getting on the ball as much but he was awesome tonight wasn’t he? And that is what I expect from Ben