Well, here we go again – except this time, it seems closer than it ever has been.
Last week, seemingly out of nowhere, fans started discussing a return for David Nugent. It seemed to be generated from Nugent following the club on Instagram, just as murmurs about a move started up.
A week has passed, and we’ve heard little more about it. Now though, Sky Sports claim that Nugent is in talks about a shock return to Deepdale.
The 34-year-old is out of contract after leaving Derby, meaning he can return for free. Intriguingly though, Nugent is injured at the moment, and he may not even be able to play when the season kicks off.
Bringing in a veteran striker with no pre-season seems like a terrible move, in all honesty. Add in that Nugent scored just two goals last season, and this seems bizarre to say the least.
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He’s past his best, he doesn’t have the pace that made him a star at Preston the first time around, and yet this will still get people buzzing like few other signings could.
Nugent is a Preston hero having not only hit 37 goals in 107 games for North End, but also scored for England whilst playing for the Lilywhites. He’s turned out for Portsmouth, Burnley, Leicester City, Middlesbrough and Derby since then, spending most of his time at the top of the Championship.
Alex Neil wanted experience, and Nugent certainly has that. Whether he can be an asset beyond that – such as scoring goals – remains to be seen, but it seems that there is now a strong chance of Nugent making an emotional return to Deepdale after all.