Championship side, Preston North End, which is currently 12th in the second tier and has outside hopes of reaching the play-offs this season, has used the Spanish full-back and Manchester United's loanee Alvaro Fernández 34 times across all competitions.
At the end of 2021–2022, Fernandez won the Reserve Team Player of the Year award for United. Manager Ryan Lowe has praised Fernandez for his maturity and ability in taking on the seasoned Robbie Brady, a former Reds Academy graduate himself, for the left-back position.
Alvaro, who turned 20 last week, says his experience with North End has taught him a lot, and he is happy to have many opportunities to play in one of Europe's toughest divisions. Alvaro Fernandez is having a "perfect" loan season at Preston North End as he looks to advance in the English football hierarchy.
“The season’s gone quick. We’re into the last months now, with eight games left, but it’s been very good. I’m happy and taking lots of experience from it,” Fernandez told manutd.com recently, at PNE’s training ground in Euxton, near Chorley.
“I’m getting minutes and that’s what I wanted when I came here, so it’s perfect.”
This Saturday, at Deepdale, at 12:30 BST, Alvaro and his fellow Lilywhites will play their greatest game of the year against their neighborhood rivals, Blackpool.
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The match against the Tangerines marks the beginning of what might be a crucial month for Lowe's team, with away travels to high-flying Millwall and Sheffield United as well as a second Lancashire rivalry game at home against Blackburn Rovers on the schedule.
Fernandez is looking forward to the task of playing regularly for the first team, and with North End one of six teams vying for a spot in the top six, however, he is hoping the campaign will be extended a little further.
“We have seven games in one month, in April, so I like it when two games come quick,” he added.
“You have one game and, whether you lose or you win, you have to be focused on the next one in three days. I like that.
“We just need to keep going. Hopefully, I’ll play a few more times so I can say I’ve played 40 games in my first year in the Championship."
“It’s a good challenge. For the team, and me as well, we want to get to the play-offs, hopefully.”
Alavro Fernandez first joined United in 2020 as an immature 17-year-old and had to negotiate a challenging scenario off the field as he tried to make an impression at his new team.
He couldn't speak the language or frequently return to Spain to see his family because the nation was gripped by the Covid epidemic.
Although only a short drive from Manchester, it is obvious that this time period significantly aided Fernandez's acclimatization to his new environment. His season-long stint at PNE will only further the adaptation.
"At the beginning, when I came here to England, I was in digs with an English family. It was very good from them, that they helped me start to speak English. You always have to learn something new, but now I can speak it better," he explained.
“The first year I could only go back at Christmas and summer, so it was hard to come to a new place and a new culture, with a new football team as well. It was hard, but the people have always been good to me in England.”
In the Galician city of Racing de Ferrol, where he was born and reared, Fernandez started his football career before spending five years in the Deportivo La Coruna academy. He was acquired by United from Real Madrid, where he played from 2017 to 2020. In the Spanish capital, Marcelo and Sergio Ramos, who played for the first team and had become club legends after winning four Champions League championships, were heroes to him.
Alvaro's goal, however, was the English Premier League. He hopes to someday play for the Reds' senior team after being selected for matchday squads under Ralf Rangnick four times at the end of the 2021/22 season.
“It was always a dream of mine to play in the Premier League and Manchester United is a big team in the Premier League and across the world,” Alvaro concluded.
“It was always a challenge and a dream to play there and that’s why I’m fighting to be there.”
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