Preston boss Ryan Lowe has offered exciting comments about the club’s transfer business this summer, with recruitment work well underway.
North End have shown encouraging signs under Lowe, losing just two league games since his appointment back in December.
Lowe has only had one transfer window as Preston boss too, bringing in Cameron Archer on loan and Bambo Diaby on a short-term deal.
This summer promises to be a big one for Preston for a number of reasons.
Firstly, North End need to bring in players who really suit Lowe’s 3-5-2 system. Lowe has used square pegs in round holes at times, so truly building this squad for him is paramount.
Preston also need to be active because three key players – Daniel Iversen, Sepp van den Berg and Archer – will all return to their parent clubs after loan spells.
Replacing them will not be easy at all, and Preston need to make sure their exits don’t really hurt the side.
Then you have to factor in the seemingly-imminent takeover from American businessman Chris Kirchner, which may give North End a little more spending power this summer.
All of that adds up to a vital transfer window, and Lowe has been speaking about Preston’s transfer plans.
As quoted by Lancs Live, Lowe has indicated that many rival players have been saying they would love to sign for Preston this summer.
Lowe even claims that clubs have visited North End and players have been in training with Preston ahead of potentially signing this summer, with is quite the situation for March.
“Am I confident we’ll get the number one targets? It depends doesn’t it? Because, ultimately, we’ve got to sell the club to these players,” said Lowe. “The good thing we have got and what we’ve had of late – and I’ve had this for quite a while to be fair – is other players complimenting us after games, other players asking if they can join, other players saying that they’d love to play for us.”
“So that is a big compliment. I am not going to name clubs or name names, but we always get it between me, Marshy, Gally and Pollie. That is credit where it’s due for what we are trying to do. Getting number one targets – we will have one, two, three or four and make sure that they are the right ones, who fit the style and philosophy that I want. We’ve already done stuff behind the scenes with clubs, that you don’t know about. And we’ve had clubs in here, who know what we are doing and players in here already, training with us,” he added.
That would likely mean players who are out of contract this summer, especially those playing in under-23 football, as senior players are unlikely to have been given permission to train with other clubs with so many games left.
Preston already have ties to Aston Villa and Liverpool, and the Reds may be a factor here.
Liverpool’s Under-23’s played against Preston at Euxton last week and Reds officials have visited the training ground to check up on Sepp van den Berg.
It makes sense that some Liverpool talents may have trained with Preston to try and get fixed up with a summer move.
That’s just guesswork on our part, but it sounds like Lowe and North End are accelerating their summer plans at a rapid pace.