Preston North End midfielder Daniel Johnson has options in France and Belgium as Stoke City face competition.
More than a week has passed since PNE announced their retained list.
There is still no news on any new deals though as the futures of multiple North End players remain up in the air.
The key name on the list was Daniel Johnson, who is out of contract this summer but has been offered a new deal.
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Johnson has been one of the greatest bargains in PNE history having arrived from Aston Villa for just £50,000 way back in 2015.
The Jamaican has now racked up 336 appearances for North End, bagging 57 goals and 38 assists along the way.
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More than eight years since his arrival, it now feels like Johnson is heading for the exit – and his absence on the final day of the season means PNE fans haven’t been able to give him a big send-off.
The big rumour so far has been that Johnson could join Stoke City, reuniting with his former North End boss Alex Neil in the process.
However, the Stoke Sentinel report that Johnson is wanted by unnamed clubs in both Belgium and France.
Those moves may be tempting to Johnson as he considers the best move for his career having spend towards 10 years at Deepdale.
Jamaican players have been prominent in Belgian football over the years, such as Leon Bailey at Genk and Shamar Nicholson at Charleroi.
Kemar Lawrence and Tyreek Magee have turned out for Anderlecht and Eupen respectively whilst Tarick Ximines currently plays for Cercle Brugge.
Johnson wouldn’t be short of international teammates to ask about life in Belgium as he weighs up the offers arriving on his desk.
There aren’t too many cases of Jamaican players featuring in France, but Junior Flemmings is currently on loan at Niort from Toulouse.
Toulouse have a far-reaching recruitment policy, bringing in players from Denmark, Australia, Japan, the Netherlands, Belgium, Chile, Norway, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Switzerland, Sweden and even England.
Rhys Healey joined Toulouse from MK Dons in 2020, so the Ligue 1 side certainly have eyes on the EFL and it wouldn’t be a surprise if they’re the team who want Johnson as they prepare to lose star midfielder Branco van den Boomen.
Johnson now has a number of interesting options this summer and it looks increasingly unlikely that he will stay at PNE.