Preston North End are allowing Adam O’Reilly to leave the club in an exit that feels disappointing yet absolutely the right decision.
PNE boss Ryan Lowe has told Lancs Live that O’Reilly has been given permission to find a new club in January.
The Irish midfielder is out of contract at the end of the season and will now seek a move away from Deepdale.
O’Reilly, 21, arrived from Ringmahon Rangers in 2016, following in the footsteps of former Ringmahon talent Alan Browne.
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Being named on the bench during Alex Neil’s first season in charge built up the hype around O’Reilly and a first-team debut came in December 2018.
Sadly, that remains O’Reilly’s only appearance for North End.
O’Reilly went out on loan to Hyde United, Stalybridge Celtic twice, Bamber Bridge, Waterford and most recently St Patrick’s Athletic.
The midfielder always impressed in these loan spells and Stalybridge boss Simon Haworth a huge fan, hailing O’Reilly as a ‘fantastic little player’.
That just never translated to first-team opportunities though and his time at PNE is coming to a rather disappointing end.
Lowe is ultimately making this decision for O’Reilly’s benefit; PNE could selfishly try and keep him but he wouldn’t really be near the first team.
O’Reilly has had to watch on as PNE have brought in a raft of midfielders for hefty fees during his time at the club.
Ryan Ledson, Brad Potts, Ben Whiteman and Ali McCann have all arrived and made it very difficult for O’Reilly to break through.
In another timeline, O’Reilly is maybe given more of a chance at PNE and becomes a first-team regular.
Instead, the time has come for O’Reilly to fly the nest and nail down a spot elsewhere, possibly back in Ireland.
We wouldn’t be surprised if O’Reilly kicks on, becomes an impressive midfielder and ends up back in England one day.
O’Reilly has bags of talent and we can only wish him the best of luck away from North End as what looked like an exciting future with the club comes to an underwhelming end.