Preston head into deadline day with business to do – and a new centre back appears to be the top priority.
Patrick Bauer is out for the season, Ben Davies is off to Liverpool in a shock move, Jordan Storey hasn’t impressed this term and Paul Huntington is 33.
West Bromwich Albion defender Cedric Kipre has emerged as a target, with Football Insider claiming both Preston and Blackburn Rovers had eyed him up.
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Lancs Live now report that Preston have indeed agreed a deal to sign Kipre on loan for the rest of the season, winning the race for his signature.
The 24-year-old is a huge presence at 6ft 4in tall, and has Championship experience under his belt having made 74 league appearances for Wigan Athletic.
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Kipre joined West Brom for £900,000 over the summer, but has yet to make a single Premier League appearance, and appears to be available.
He seems fit the bill for Preston, but the idea of him coming in on loan throws up something of a dilemma surrounding North End’s loan spots.
Liverpool defender Sepp van den Berg is set to arrive on loan as part of the Davies deal, and if Kipre arrives too, that’s six loan signings in the squad.
Only five can be in the matchday squad, meaning somebody could miss out – or it may be a deadline day choice of Van den Berg or Kipre, rather than both.