Preston may be in the hunt for a new striker, but one of their old targets is in the news as Blackburn’s Adam Armstrong nears a move to Southampton.
North End targeted Armstrong back in the summer of 2018, even agreeing a fee with Newcastle United for his signature.
Armstrong had just hit nine goals in 21 games on loan at Blackburn, and Preston wanted to break their transfer record to sign him.
The problem was that Rovers wanted him too, and Armstrong’s relationship with Tony Mowbray proved pivotal in the race.
Armstrong had worked with Mowbray at Coventry City and Rovers, so picked another stint under him instead of joining Preston.
This has proven to be one of Preston’s big transfer misses in recent memory.
Armstrong has been a goal machine for Rovers, scoring 64 times in 160 outings for the club, including 29 goals last season.
The 24-year-old is just what Preston would love to have in attack right now, but he’s now worth much, much more than the £1.75million Rovers paid.
The Athletic report that Southampton have agreed a £15million deal to sign Armstrong, viewing him as the replacement for Danny Ings following his move to Aston Villa.
Newcastle hold a 40% sell-on clause on any profit Blackburn gain. That would work out to around £5.3million, meaning Rovers will bring in just shy of £10million.
That’s still more than Preston received for Jordan Hugill and would have been a record fee for North End.
Preston are really missing those kind of money-making players, and will now have to fight for a striker signing this month whilst knowing that Rovers have just received a cash windfall.