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Played For Both: Preston North End & Leeds United

We take a look through the players who have featured for both sides

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Daniel Farke’s men welcome Preston North End to Elland Road on Sunday as the Whites face off against the Lancashire side in the Sky Bet Championship.

Ahead of the fixture, we take a look back through the years and pick out a starting XI from the players who have worn the shirts of both clubs.

GK: Andy Lonergan The Preston-born shot-stopper began his professional career with PNE and made 231 appearances over the course of 11 seasons with the club. He even scored a goal from his own penalty area when his long kick bounced over Leicester City goalkeeper, Kevin Pressman, in October 2004. Lonergan had two spells with Leeds, he was first signed in 2011 and spent one season in Yorkshire after featuring in 48 games. He re-joined the club in August 2017 where he made an additional nine appearances.

DEF: Paul Huntington LUFC signed the defender from Newcastle United in 2007 and remained with the Yorkshire side until 2010. He played 32 times for the club and scored three goals. Two years later, he signed for Preston and became an icon with the Lilywhites. The defender played 307 times and scored 18 goals over the course of 10 years in all competitions for the club.

DEF: Bob Batey Back in 1934, Preston North End signed Batey from Carlisle United. The defender spent five seasons with the club and played 90 times for the Lilywhites. After the Second World War, Batey signed for Leeds United but played just eight times in his only season with the Whites before leaving for Southport in 1947.

DEF: Sean Gregan

Gregan joined PNE from Darlington back in 1997 and he gained promotion to the second tier in 2000 during his five and a half year spell with the club. He played on 251 occasions and netted 14 times for Preston until his departure in 2002. Gregan later went on to sign for Leeds in September 2004 and he featured heavily in his first and second season with the club but was sent out on loan in his third. Overall, he played 74 times for the Whites.

DEF: Clarke Carlisle Once awarded the title of ‘Britain’s Brainiest Footballer,’ Carlisle played for Leeds during the 2004/05 campaign and racked up 38 appearances in all competitions during his only season with the Whites. In the summer of 2011, the defender was loaned out by his parent club Burnley to Preston North End ahead of the 2011/12 season. Carlisle racked up 27 appearances and three goals during his time there before his loan was terminated in January 2012.

MID: Danny Pugh Pugh had two spells with Leeds United, the first came in 2004 when he became Kevin Blackwell’s first signing ahead of the 2004/05 campaign. He featured in one full with the Whites before PNE came in for the midfielder’s signature. The midfielder played 57 times for the Lancashire club before joining Stoke City in November 2007. Pugh briefly returned to Preston on loan in 2010 and made an additional five appearances for the Lilywhites. Leeds United then came calling for him the following year and initially joined on loan but the move was later made permanent. He remained with the club for three seasons and, overall, the midfielder scored 10 goals in 119 games for LUFC.

MID: Neil Kilkenny

Kilkenny originally joined LUFC on loan from Birmingham City in January 2008 but the move was made permanent a week after he signed. He spent three and a half seasons with the Yorkshire side and he went on to became part of the Leeds squad that achieved promotion back to the Championship in 2010. After a spell with Bristol City, he made the move to Preston North End in 2013 where he gained promotion to the Championship in his third and final season with the club in 2016. Overall, the midfielder played 96 games and netted four goals for the Lilywhites.

MID: Kevin Nicholls The midfielder signed for Leeds from Luton Town in the summer of 2006 but injuries kept him out of action a number of times during his only season with the club. He played 15 times for the Whites in all competitions before departing for PNE. Again, he found minutes on the pitch hard to come by and played 18 times for the Lilywhites before re-joining Luton the end of the 2007/08 campaign.

ATT: Andy Gray Son of Frank and nephew of Eddie, Andy Gray began his footballing journey through the Leeds United youth system and went on to make his professional debut for his hometown club in September 1995. He had two spells with the Whites and his first spell came to an end in 1998 when he signed for Nottingham Forest. He signed for Preston on loan during the 1998/99 campaign where he played five games. The forward re-signed for LUFC 15 years after his departure in the summer of 2012 where he scored one goal in 10 appearances for the Whites.

ATT: Jermaine Beckford

The LUFC icon scored a total of 85 goals in 152 games for Leeds United as he went on to become part of the leading line that helped the Whites achieve promotion back to the Championship in 2010. After spells with Everton, Leicester, Huddersfield and Bolton, Becked made the move to Preston. He gained another promotion to the Championship with the club and even scored a hat-trick in the Lilywhites’ League One play-off final against Swindon. Overall, he netted 21 times in 61 appearances for PNE.

ATT: David Healy Healy initially joined Preston on a loan deal from Manchester United but the move was made permanent in 2000 when he was signed for £1.4 million. The striker spent four and a half seasons with PNE and he netted 45 goals in 156 appearances in all competitions. Leeds United came in for the attacker during the 2004/05 campaign and Healy remained with the Whites until 2007. In two and a half seasons, the Northern Irishman scored 31 goals in 121 games for Leeds United.

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