Heading into this summer, the future of defender Ben Davies was one of the main concerns for Preston North End fans.
The centre back has arguably been the big success story of the Alex Neil era, emerging from forgotten youngster to indispensable star.
Calm, composed and talented on the ball whilst possessing a fine reading of the game, Davies has become a superb centre back – and has the added quality of being left-footed, which many managers love due to the balance that can provide.
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The problem for Preston is that Davies is out of contract in 2021. He has just one year left on his deal at Deepdale, and many have expected him to go.
On Sunday, the Daily Mail reported that Leicester City want to sign Davies, with Brendan Rodgers keen to add a new centre back this summer.
Sean St Ledger is a scout for the Foxes, and may well have been impressed with Davies’s display for North End, meaning he is being viewed as a potential replacement for Jonny Evans.
That doesn’t sound all that encouraging. If Davies has Premier League interest, then we couldn’t really blame him for exploring such a move.
Yet we have now been told by three separate sources that Davies is on the verge of signing a new contract to stay at Preston for the foreseeable future.
Similar rumours had emerged last month, and we didn’t touch them because nobody we spoke to could confirm that the 25-year-old had put pen-to-paper on a new deal.
This time, we’ve had a number of claims that Davies is indeed staying put – something I had been somewhat nervous about posting in light of these new Leicester rumours.
Other new contracts are in the works, possibly even to be announced this week, but that’s where we stand with Davies; the media think he could end up in the Premier League and we’re hearing he’s not only staying, but extending his contract. Let’s see which way it goes.