Plenty of players came and went in the last transfer window, and we can expect the same in the summer.
Preston North End are in transition, and manager Alex Neil has admitted there will be another overhaul in the summer.
All of Preston’s incoming transfers in the last year have yet to play in front of the North End faithful. Some may never get that chance having only signed temporary loan deals.
One player who did commit his future to the club in January – and is well known to the home crowd at Deepdale – was Daniel Johnson.
Having been at the club for six years since signing for £50,000 from Aston Villa in 2015, Johnson was linked with a move away from Deepdale this season.
He did however sign a contract extension through to 2023, whilst he saw some of his long-time teammates leave the club.
The midfielder admits it’s a bit strange not seeing the likes of Ben Davies, Ben Pearson and Darnell Fisher anymore, with plenty of new players at the training ground instead.
In the midweek press conference, the Jamaican went on to say “By strange I just mean there had been a few boys who had been here for a while and you build those relationships with them and then they aren’t there every day so it’s different. They are different characters and I miss all of them.”
He admits this season hasn’t been the best for him with his contract situation taking centre stage. Now that has settled down, he hopes the club can finish the season strongly and then focus on getting a good pre-season under their belts.
The Jamaican is now an important, experienced part of the squad. Wearing the captain’s armband at stages, the 28-year-old is in the peak of his career and needs to make it count.
When he arrived at Deepdale in the promotion season of 2014-15, he had only made a handful of appearances in his career via loan spells. He is now closing in on 250 games for The Lilywhites, and will be able to lend some guidance to new signings for Alex Neil’s side.