Ryan Lowe's glowing assessment of Kian Best's debut for England U19s as U21s visit explained

Preston North End manager Ryan Lowe thought Kian Best was 'outstanding' on debut for England Under-19s - having gone to watch the defender in Spain.

Best earned his first call-up to Simon Rusk's squad, having been on stand by in previous international breaks. He played in all three of the Marbella Cup clashes against Romania, Japan and Mexico - with England winning every match.

Lowe was in attendance for Best's first game in England colours, with him scoring and assisting in a 6-0 rout of Romania. With coverage of the match limited, the onus was on PNE's boss to provide updates back home. Seeing Best thrive on that stage filled Lowe with pride.

"Left-sided centre half he played, in the first game," said Lowe. "He was outstanding. I actually jumped out of my seat when he scored! I spoke to him before the game and gave him a few pointers of what to do and what not to do. England Under-19s were always going to be better in quality than Romania, with all due respect. He was comfortable on the ball and played down the left side with Calum Scanlon from Liverpool - who is another terrific player. He was calm and collected on the ball. I did want him to join in a little bit more, going down the left side.

"But, when you've got a lad like Calum Scanlon in front, you give him the ball and he goes and does his bit. Second half, he joined a little bit more and hence he finds himself on the edge of the box. First half, he set a goal up from a cross - similar to Milly's (offside) one (at Blackburn). The lad headed it in, which was fantastic and second half, he found himself on the edge of the box and when the ball came to him I thought the kid was going to block it - but he's just rifled it right down the middle. He did everything the manager probably asked him to do and got a goal and an assist... so really pleasing."

Lowe hopes the fact he was there himself gave Best even more motivation to impress. It has been a breakthrough season for the teenager and North End's manager was glad to be there, supporting his player on the day.

"Yeah, I think so!" said Lowe. "I was texting his dad, because there was no coverage of it. I was saying how well he was doing, sending him a couple of pictures and whatnot. It was a proud moment. I sent him a message when he scored and texted all the media team. I will try and go watch all my players on internationals. I've watched Browney, Robbie a few times and Troy when he was here. I was going to go see Ali this year, in Belfast, but obviously he got injured.

"Montenegro is a little bit too far! I didn't know where I was going and Milly probably wouldn't understand me much, just yet. But, eventually I will get to all the lads who play internationals. I think it's nice for me to go and see it, but also probably nice for the players when they see their manager there. Besty saw me when he was walking out and I gave him a little thumbs up. I'd already spoken to him and told him I was coming, so he was aware. But, I think if any manager is there and watching, it gives you a real boost yeah."

Lowe also took in England Under-21s versus Northern Ireland over the international break and outlined his belief that Best could handle that level too. Catching the 21s in action is something Preston's boss will always try to do, if the opportunity arises.

"Yeah, there are some players in there who we were probably looking at before, or since I've been here and you're thinking 'okay', monitoring them, because you never know what their situation might be, where they are," said Lowe. "There are always some good players aren't there? The top 21s players are obviously at big Premier League clubs and some European clubs, but there's always someone. They played Northern Ireland and they had some good players; anyone who plays at international level has got some good qualities. It's important, especially in those games, that you keep your foot in the door, have a look and see what's there."