Preston will be making decisions on out of contract players very soon – and it sounds like Joe Rafferty is heading for the exit door.
The end of the season is in sight now with Preston having just four more games to play.
North End have a number of players who can leave the club for nothing this summer and Rafferty is just one of them.
Journalist Alan Nixon now reports on his Patreon that Rafferty will be leaving Deepdale when his deal expires in June.
Rafferty, 28, joined Preston from Rochdale back in January 2019.
North End desperately needed cover at right back with Darnell Fisher needing competition back then.
Rafferty arrived in a low-cost move after Preston also looked at the likes of Callum Johnson and Kieron Freeman.
Whilst never really nailed down as a starter, Rafferty has even featured as a left back during his time at Preston.
First-team action has been hard to come by for Rafferty this season, starting just two league games and making an additional two substitute appearances.
The former Liverpool talent – who actually worked under Mike Marsh during his time at Anfield – was always in an uphill fight for a new contract.
Rafferty doesn’t quite fit what Ryan Lowe wants from his wing backs and maybe doesn’t have the athleticism Lowe seeks as a centre back.
It’s no surprise to see Preston seemingly prepared to let Raffeerty go at the end of his contract and he may simply be the first of many.
Connor Ripley, Mathew Hudson, Paul Huntington, Bambo Diaby, Tom Barkhuizen, Scott Sinclair, Izzy Brown, Jamie Thomas, Jack Baxter and Ethan Walker are all out of contract too.
Brown may be given another year, as may Diaby, but it wouldn’t’t be a surprise to see the others follow Rafferty out of Preston.