Preston already know that Ben Pearson wants to leave the club, and Ben Davies could follow him out of Deepdale.
Both of Preston’s key men are out of contract at the end of the season, meaning they can soon leave for absolutely nothing.
Pearson has communicated his desire to leave, and North End have decided to leave him out of the side ahead of a potential exit.
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Davies remains in the Preston starting lineup though, and was simply outstanding in Sunday’s 0-0 home draw against Reading.
Now though, speculation about his future is rife, with Sky Sports reporting that Celtic have made contact with Davies and Preston about signing the defender to a pre-contract agreement.
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That report added that Preston would be willing to sell immediately for around £2.5million, bringing in a small amount of cash – relative to his quality, that is – rather than seeing him leave for nothing.
Now, Preston boss Alex Neil has told Lancs Live that he has spoken to Davies, and the the centre back has indicated that he wants to stay until the end of the season and remain committed to North End.
That could kibosh Celtic’s hopes of an immediate cash deal, but also Preston out of pocket when he leaves this summer, meaning it’s a difficult situation for the club to try and balance.
“I think it depends on Ben really. The discussions I’ve had with Ben, he has told me he wants to stay until the end of the season and give everything he’s got – that’s proven to be the case up until this point,” said Neil.