Gateshead FC is delighted to confirm that Preston Leech has signed a one-year contract extension with the club.
The 19-year-old goalkeeper puts pen to paper on Tyneside for his second season as a member of the club’s first team squad, having first signed professional terms in the summer of 2025 after progressing through the Gateshead FC Junior Academy and Gateshead FC Academy system – becoming the first player to do so in the process.
Leech has shown exemplary drive and professionalism since first training with the club’s first team as a Gateshead FC Academy player in August 2023, eventually leading to his maiden inclusion in the match day squad as a substitute for Enterprise National League fixtures against York City and Yeovil Town in January 2025.
He would go on to appear for The Heed’s first team in pre-season across July 2025, before gaining senior experience in the Northern League with Northallerton on a dual-registration basis at the beginning of the 2025/26 campaign. Leech made his first team debut for Gateshead in December 2025, starting an Isuzu FA Trophy third round tie against Morecambe at Gateshead International Stadium, and was included in the squad for 18 Enterprise National League fixtures last term.
Leech’s new deal will see him remain on Tyneside until the summer of 2027, with a senior loan planned for the initial part of the 2026/27 season in order to continue his footballing development.
