Transfer deadline day always brings up moves that fell through and deals that depended on others going through.
Preston ended up in one of those situations as they rushed through a last-gasp deal for Everton winger Anthony Gordon.
Having already secured defenders Liam Lindsay and Sepp van den Berg from Stoke City and Liverpool respectively, North End swooped for Gordon.
SAKA, ANTONY AND 10 PREMIER LEAGUE STARS HEADING TO THEIR FIRST WORLD CUP
They left it late – the deal wasn’t officially announced until well after the 11pm deadline, but Preston got it done.
Fans were worried late in the day. We had reported in the evening that Gordon was set for a move to Deepdale, but Everton’s own business had an impact.
MORE PRESTON STORIES
They wanted to bring in an attacker of their own in order to free up Gordon, and their target was – somewhat ironically – a former Preston man.
Joshua King was the man on the radar, and it looked like he would be heading to Fulham when The Telegraph’s Jason Burt tweeted that the Norwegian had picked the Cottagers.
In the end, King picked Everton, and some 10 years after his loan spell with Preston came to an end, his move helped Preston secure Gordon.
Speaking to BBC Radio Lancashire, Gordon admits he was told that King rejecting Everton would have ruined his Preston move, so the Bournemouth man’s apparent change of mind helped his former club massively.
“I think so, yeah,” said Gordon. “That was what I was told. I’m not sure how things would have panned out but that was my understanding,” he added.