Preston will be watching Ben Davies’s situation closely as Celtic eye a potential £4million deal to sign the Liverpool defender.
North End saw Davies rise from the youth setup into a first-team star.
There were bumps along the way; a roasting against Jamal Campbell-Ryce in 2014 whilst being deployed as a left back sticks in the memory.
Yet Davies ended up becoming a superb centre back under Alex Neil, emerging as the ideal left-sided defender.
Quick, a great reader of the game and comfortable with the ball at his feet, Davies excelled in a Preston shirt.
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We all knew that Davies would be moving on as he entered the final six months of his contract in 2021.
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Few could have predicted that his destination would be Liverpool though as the Reds secured a cheap deal.
Liverpool paid a minimal fee but Preston were able to secure a sell-on clause – believed to be around 20% – ensuring that North End would benefit from his future.
Davies hasn’t played a single first-team game for Liverpool and spent last season out on loan at Sheffield United.
Yet Preston will now be watching on very closely with Davies potentially set to leave Liverpool this summer.
The Liverpool Echo claim that both Celtic and Middlesbrough have made contact to try and sign Davies.
Liverpool are seeking a fee of around £4million and it seems that a permanent exit is now on the cards – just 18 months since Preston sold Davies.
That could bring in around £800,000 to the Preston coffers, which would certainly help even if it isn’t particularly groundbreaking.
The links to Celtic are no surprise; they wanted to sign Davies in January 2021 before being pipped by Liverpool.
Many Preston fans would love to see Davies return to the club but that isn’t likely to happen, especially at that price tag, but North End certainly have reason to be interested in the defender’s future.