Preston North End didn’t make any more signings before the EFL deadline closed on Friday, meaning just one signing was made over the course of the transfer window.
Alex Neil needed a striker, and got one earlier this month as Preston paid £1.2million to sign Emil Riis from Randers in a move that came somewhat out of nowhere.
Having just about managed to keep hold of Ben Davies, Ben Pearson, Daniel Johnson and Alan Browne, North End only had one desperate need, and that was up top.
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22-year-old Riis will be hoping to hit the ground running at Preston, and showed some promising signs in his brief cameo at Brentford before the international break.
Riis is still unlikely to start against Cardiff City today, but offers a threat from the bench if Preston need a goal.
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Last week, we spoke to Claus Røndbjerg from Danish Footy, and he told us a little bit more about North End’s new striker as well as how the move was received in Denmark.
Now, we’ve found one piece of analysis from Amtsavisen’s sports editor Lars Abildgaard, in which he discusses the decision to sell Riis.
Abildgaard believes that there can be no denying that Randers made the right decision because of the money on offer, even if makes them weaker.
Abildgaard added that Riis was a real threat with his enthusiasm and confidence, but was lacking some ‘efficiency’ in front of goal – something Preston will now be hoping to develop.
“There can be no two opinions that it was the right decision to sell Emil Riis, who was also hungry to leave,” said Abildgaard. “But one should also not be blind to the sporting side of the matter, where Randers is weakened. Emil Riis was full of enthusiasm and confidence, and he tried to focus his attacks down the middle. It was only the efficiency in front of goal that still left a lot of desire,” he added.