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Andrew Moran played with former Tottenham star Son Heung-min and against Germany legend Thomas Muller during his time in MLS.
Swapping the glorious sunshine of LA for rainy Preston and giving up opportunities to play against superstars such as Lionel Messi and Thomas Muller to return to the rough-n-tumble of the Championship might not be everyone’s idea of a no-brainer.
But Ireland midfielder Andrew Moran didn’t need to be asked twice when Deepdale came calling. Moran signed a three-year contract with the Lilywhites in January after calling time on a spell at Brighton that ended with a loan move to the west coast of America. After impressive loan stints at Blackburn and Stoke, he opted for a switch to MLS, where he teamed up with former Tottenham players Hugo Lloris and Son Heung-min at Los Angeles FC.
The 22-year-old arrived in late-August and made 10 appearances between then and the end of the US season, scoring once in a 2-2 draw away to Colorado Rapids. And then came the opportunity to join Preston, and Moran said: “To be honest, when I heard the Preston deal, the way they were coming in, everything they were saying to me, the position we were in the league at the time as well, I just thought it was a really exciting opportunity, so I was delighted with it.
” After making his switch, he played 11 times as Preston finished 14th in the Championship, 13 points adrift of the play-off spots.
“It was really enjoyable,” Moran replied, speaking in La Finca, Ireland's training base ahead of Saturday's friendly in Murcia against Grenada. “I had a few different experiences. We had a good team. That probably made it even more enjoyable and we got far into the playoffs.
So I really enjoyed it, I can't say anything bad about it. ” Los Angeles finished third in the Western Conference and lost on penalties to Germany and Bayern Munich legend Muller’s Vancouver Whitecaps. The Whitecaps went on to lose in the decider to Messi’s Inter Miami. Moran continued: “It was really good.
We had some top players on our team, a really technical type of football, probably not as intense.
“With the heat and everything over there, it's tough to be full pressure and stuff. It was really enjoyable. I really enjoyed the style of play. ” As for big names whose paths the Dubliner crossed, Moran said: “We got knocked out by Vancouver, they had Thomas Muller and players like that.
“God, it feels so long ago now with the season that's gone, it's hard to remember, but there's some unbelievable players there, like obviously Messi's there, if we'd won that game we would've got into the next round, we could've played them, so that obviously would've been unbelievable. “Now there's some class players, Denis Bouanga as well, at LA, at my team, he was unbelievable, him and Sonny up front, it was a dream to play with.
” The LA lifestyle was also something that Moran had to adapt to, as much as life on the pitch.
“LA is a bit different to Dublin,” he said “It was enjoyable, yeah, a great place. I really enjoyed it, to be honest. It was something completely out of my comfort zone. So I'm glad I did it.
“It's a great place but obviously Dublin's still my favourite place in the world, even though it's not quite the same as LA. ” But it was for footballing reasons, not lifestyle, that he made the move back to England.
“That's been my dream in football, to play as high in England, in the Premier League, since I was a little kid. So that was my main reason to come back,” said Moran. Click here to sign up to our sport newsletter, bringing you the top stories and biggest headlines from Ireland and beyond .
Lionel Messi Thomas Muller Preston North End FC Andrew Moran Brighton And Hove Albion FC Blackburn Rovers FC Stoke City FC Stoke City Major League Soccer Son Heung-Min Premier League Republic Of Ireland National Football Team
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