Back in January, Ben Davies was unsurprisingly linked with a move away from Preston North End.
The Preston defender has been the big success story of Alex Neil’s tenure, emerging from an almost-forgotten defender to one of the first names on the teamsheet.
He’s shown composure on the ball to help build from the back, whilst he has proven that his lack of height isn’t a huge issue thanks to his pace and reading of the game – and what’s even better is that he’s come up through the club’s ranks.
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Sadly, it looks like Davies will leave in the near future. His contract expires in 2021, and if Preston don’t win promotion, they will likely cash in before he potentially walks away for free in a year.
Premier League clubs have been linked, and it was Leicester who joined the race in January. Leicester ended up taking Ryan Bennett on loan from Wolves instead, and the Leicester Mercury claim it’s unlikely he’ll join permanently.
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There’s another level of intrigue though, as Leicester scout Sean St Ledger – yes, the former Preston defender – appears to playing a key role in defensive recruitment.
The Daily Mail noted that St Ledger was watching Celtic’s Kristoffer Ajer in October, and it’s not difficult to believe that he would be the one pushing an interest in Davies.
St Ledger was a hero in his time at Preston, and will always keep an eye out for North End’s results. Yet now as a scout, he may have to view Preston’s performances as a talent spotter rather than as a former player, and Davies makes sense.
Just like St Ledger was at Preston, Davies has impressed as a ball-playing defender, and Brendan Rodgers using Christian Fuchs as a left-sided defender – a role Davies would be ideal for – shows where the Preston man could fit in.
Preston may just find themselves under the spotlight after St Ledger’s surprise move into scouting, and their interest in Davies popping up after St Ledger had been out scouting other defenders may just point to the Irishman’s taking a keen interest in Preston again.