Preston’s goalscoring woes are continuing – and it may just cost them a Championship playoff place.
Saturday’s 3-1 home defeat to QPR means Preston haven’t been able to pull clear of the chasing pack for a playoff spot, and a lack of goals is a major problem.
Preston have scored just three times in the last five games, and two of them were penalties. The only goal from open play was Alan Browne’s header from a Jayden Stockley cross against Hull City.
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Seani Maguire has scored once in his last 29 games, whilst Jayden Stockley and David Nugent have combined for just three goals all season. That’s simply not good enough for a team chasing promotion, and if North End don’t finish in the top six, that will be the main reason.
Preston chose not to sign a striker in January, instead putting all their eggs in the basket of Scott Sinclair – a player who had barely featured for Celtic in the first half of the season.
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Still, there were rumours; the Daily Mail noted in December that Preston wanted Kilmarnock’s Eamonn Brophy. Alex Neil allegedly wanted a reunion, having given the former Celtic and Hibernian man a chance at Hamilton Academical.
No move materialised, but Brophy has been in sensational form since then. In nine games since the end of the January transfer window, Brophy has smashed seven goals, including a winner against Rangers in January.
Brophy – who turns 24 tomorrow – may not be a big name, and the goals are coming in Scotland, which isn’t always an indication of future success in England, but his form may just catch Preston’s eye.
He’s versatile, he’s quick and he’s scoring goals. If Preston do move for an attacker this summer, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see Brophy on the wish list.