Preston North End take on Chelsea in the FA Cup this evening and a number of players have been in the ranks of both clubs.
PNE head down to West London for what appears to be a rather daunting FA Cup clash.
North End’s league form has been disappointing for around three months, winning just four of the last 19 Championship games.
The FA Cup offers something of a relief this weekend, but taking on Chelsea is hardly an easy ask.
There aren’t many players to turn out for both clubs in recent times, but there are a handful with a foot in both camps as PNE and Chelsea meet for the first time since 2010.
Neil Clement
We’re going back a little bit for this one as defender Neil Clement joined PNE on loan from Chelsea back in 1999.
The left back was remarkably sent off on his debut in a 1-0 defeat at Colchester United and made only four appearances for North End.
Clement was a product of the Chelsea youth ranks and did manage four first-team appearances for the Blues.
Clement went on to spend 10 years with West Bromwich Albion, racking up more than 250 league appearances for the Baggies.
Filipe Oliveira
Probably one of PNE’s more forgettable loan signings of the last 20 years.
Winger Filipe Oliveira arrived on loan from Chelsea under Billy Davies, with BBC Sport noting that North End had failed with two previous offers.
Oliveira arrived with a decent reputation as a youngster but made just one start and four substitute appearances in a PNE shirt.
The Portuguese talent only stayed for just over a month before heading back to Chelsea, where he managed eight under Jose Mourinho and Claudio Ranieri.
Now a scout for Portuguese side Famalicao, Oliveira went on to feature for the likes of Maritimo, Braga, Parma and Torino after leaving PNE.
Todd Kane
One of Graham Westley’s many, many PNE signings, right back Todd Kane came in on loan from Chelsea in 2012.
The move to North End was Kane’s first loan spell away from Chelsea but he only played five games before heading back to West London.
Kane never managed to break through at Chelsea and was sent out on loan seven more times after his North End spell.
The 30-year-old has been an EFL regular with the likes of Hull City, Queens Park Rangers and Coventry City but now finds himself in Gibraltar with Manchester 62.
Rhys Taylor
We would be stunned if many PNE fans remember this one, but goalkeeper Rhys Taylor was another Westley signing back in 2013.
PNE announced that Taylor had signed ‘non-contract terms’ at Deepdale with little more mention of his arrival.
The Welsh stopper was on the bench twice for North End, serving as cover for Thorsten Stuckmann.
The former Blues talent then decided to move on to Macclesfield Town, where he became their first-choice stopper.
Taylor never featured for Chelsea and went on to play for Newport County, Wrexham, AFC Fylde, Tranmere Rovers, Macclesfield Town again and Bradford (Park Avenue).
Scott Sinclair
Probably the biggest name on the list, winger Scott Sinclair made headlines by joining Chelsea from Bristol Rovers at the age of just 16.
Sinclair had already made his first-team debut for Rovers and Chelsea pounced, believing that he had an enormous future ahead of him.
Chances at Chelsea were hard to come by as he managed 14 first-team appearances and spent most of his time out on loan.
Sinclair started to shine at Swansea City but a loan move to Manchester City left him on the fringes and out on loan again.
Celtic handed Sinclair his biggest success yet, smashing 62 goals in 167 appearances whilst winning three successive trebles.
Sinclair headed to North End in January 2020 and represented a big-name addition, but 14 goals in 85 games was maybe a little underwhelming.
Now 34 and back home with Bristol Rovers, Sinclair has the most Chelsea and PNE appearances of anybody on this list.
Izzy Brown
PNE snapped up Izzy Brown in 2021 having seen him leave Chelsea at the end of his contract.
Brown was a similar case to Sinclair; snapped up from West Bromwich Albion at a young age, Brown was tipped for the top.
Jose Mourinho predicted England caps for Brown, seeing major talent and potential in the attacking midfielder.
Brown only managed one first-team appearance for Chelsea though and injuries seemed to really impact him over the course of his career.
That was the case at PNE as Brown suffered a major Achilles injury on his pre-season debut against Celtic.
Brown subsequently never made an appearance for PNE and was released by Ryan Lowe in 2022, just a year before the playmaker announced his retirement.