Preston were busy in the January transfer window, bringing eight players to bolster Alex Neil’s squad – and seven of them were loanees.
Daniel Iversen, Greg Cunningham, Sepp van den Berg, Liam Lindsay, Jayson Molumby, Anthony Gordon and Ched Evans have all come in on loan until the end of the season.
The influx of signings should help Neil until the summer, but signing so many loan players has presented its own issues to North End.
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You can only name five loanees in a matchday squad, meaning Preston are currently two players over the limit as things stand.
Even though the transfer window is now closed, Preston can sign loanees permanently outside of the window – and Peter Ridsdale has suggested that Preston won’t still have seven loanees by the time North End face Rotherham United this weekend.
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That means permanent deals are being worked on, and Preston’s official site may have offered a hit to one full-time move this evening.
As seen above, Greg Cunningham is no longer listed as being ‘in on loan’, whereas the rest of the loan signings still are listed as such.
The Irish left back is out of contract at Cardiff City this summer, meaning Preston will have been trying to finalise a deal for the Bluebirds to let him go early.
It’s unlikely to change Cunningham’s term for now; a permanent deal will likely be until the end of the season, simply replacing his loan for registration reasons as Preston take a look at him for a longer-term deal.