BEN Davies hopes to make a first-team impression at Preston North End after signing a new two-and-a-half-year deal at Deepdale.

The 21-year-old Furness Rovers junior – who has been on professional terms at Deepdale since 2013 – has signed a contract to keep him with the Lilywhites until 2019.

Defender Davies is a graduate of the PNE academy, and has been with the club for 10 years, having made his first-team debut as a 17-year-old against Coventry City in January 2013.

The former Furness Academy and Roose Primary School pupil has made 12 senior appearances for Preston, the most recent – and the first of this season – coming in the EFL Cup victory over Premier League Bournemouth in September.

Davies hopes he can repay the faith shown in him by North End boss Simon Grayson over the course of his contract, with the aim of becoming a more regular feature in the first team.

“I’m over the moon,” he told club website pnefc.net. “It’s brilliant to commit to this club again. I have been here 10 years now and I’ve enjoyed every minute so far, and I’m delighted to still be here. I’m looking forward to progressing over these next few years and hopefully helping this club get even higher up the table.

“The gaffer has been great for me, I think he develops young players really well. You’ve seen young players come into the side and do well, so I’m delighted that he has shown faith in me and hopefully seen some potential, and I’m looking forward to repaying him and doing my best for the club and for the team.

“(Grayson) knows when to put young players in and when you need a bit longer, so I’ve been patient and I’ve trusted the staff and trusted myself and waited for my chances, and hopefully I can get a few more games now I am developing and getting a bit older.”

Having gained added security with the extended Preston deal, Davies is looking to both follow in the footsteps of other academy graduates by establishing himself in the first team and provide inspiration for others following in his footsteps.

“I feel like I’m progressing, especially this year, and it’s good to now be able to concentrate purely on football now that I’m settled,” he added.

“It’s been a hard few years, I’ve been here 10 years and so there was a lot of travelling early on and I owe my family a lot because they were brilliant when I was coming through, and it’s paying off now and I love it at this club.

“I’ve come through the academy, and you can see that there is a pathway with the players before me, especially with the likes of Bailey Wright and Josh Brownhill, and I’m starting to make tracks through it and I just want to show that there is a route through the academy and show the younger players that there is a way to get into the first team.”

Davies has spent large parts of the past three seasons out on loan to gain experience with the likes of York City, Newport County and Tranmere Rovers.

But the defender, who was spotted by Preston playing for Furness Rovers in a tournament in Lancaster, has seen himself grow and develop while training with experienced first teamers.

“Every day in training you learn, the coaching staff are brilliant and the gaffer has been brilliant with me as well and you never stop learning off the better players,” said Davies.

“I can feel myself improving, especially this year with the quality of the players that we’ve got. They help you out if you ask them questions and they are always willing to answer, and I am learning a lot every day and developing my game and I’m looking forward to the future now.

“I’m going to keep working hard, I will keep going, keep learning and hopefully throughout the season the gaffer can throw me in a couple of times. He has done a few times already and hopefully I can take my chance and help the team.”