Bournemouth are back in the Premier League after beating Nottingham Forest – and long-time Preston target Kieffer Moore bagged the winner.
The Cherries faced a crunch clash against Forest on Tuesday night. Bournemouth sat second, three points clear of Forest but with a slightly worse goal difference.
Defeat would have left automatic promotion in Forest’s hands on the final day but Bournemouth prevailed.
Scott Parker’s men left it late but substitute Moore swept home the winner as Forest switched off from Philip Billing’s free kick.
Moore’s goal sparked scenes of celebration at the Vitality Stadium as Bournemouth return to the Premier League following their 2020 relegation.
This means Ben Pearson is heading to the Premier League but some Preston fans will feel a tinge of sadness at seeing Moore bag the winner.
Moore’s name is well-known in Preston circles having missed out on signing him in 2018.
Alan Nixon reported in the summer of 2018 that Preston wanted Moore but wouldn’t pay the £2million required to sign him.
Peter Ridsdale later admitted that Preston did have a bid accepted for an unnamed striker but the club in question doubled his asking price at the last minute.
That striker is believed to have been Moore with Alex Neil keen on bringing him to Deepdale.
When Wigan Athletic were going through their financial woes in 2020, Preston again looked into signing Moore but he ended up at Cardiff City instead.
Moore racked up 20 league goals for Cardiff last season. It already felt like Preston had missed out on a real gem in Moore but that scoring record just made it worse.
Moore joined Bournemouth in January and has now scored the goal to take them to the Premier League.
Every club has these ‘ones who got away’, so it isn’t just Preston.
Yet it’s hard not to think about the kind of impact Moore could have had on Neil’s Preston, who were sometimes just a top Championship striker away from really contending for promotion.
Moore will now have the chance to play in the Premier League whilst North End go back into the market for another striker; let’s just hope Preston pull the trigger if a player of Moore’s quality can be signed again.