Preston North End and Sunderland will be watching FC Basel’s situation very closely as the future of wide man Liam Millar hangs in the balance.
PNE claimed a crucial win on Saturday afternoon, beating Plymouth Argyle 1-0 at Home Park.
Liam Millar scored the only goal of the game, firing home a right-footed strike at the back post to give PNE all three points.
The Canadian started the game on the bench but injuries saw him come on and make a huge impact – despite playing as a right wing back!
Millar has now racked up five goals and five assists and has become a firm fan favourite at Deepdale, sparking calls for a permanent deal.
The former Liverpool talent is only on loan from Basel and there is no fixed price for PNE to sign him permanently this summer.
The LEP reported in February that PNE have been in discussions with Basel over a potential deal – but the Swiss club may have bigger fish to fry right now.
Basel in relegation trouble as PNE chase Liam Millar deal
We took a look at Basel’s situation back in November as they started the season with just two wins in 13 league games.
Four months on, their situation doesn’t look any better.
Basel sit 10th in the Swiss top flight and look nailed on to be in the ‘relegation round’; the league splits into two groups of six in just a few weeks.
Basel will then have to play each of the other bottom six and attempt to save themselves from a rather embarrassing relegation.
The Swiss side have become a fallen giant having previously been regulars in the Champions League scene.
Basel won 12 league titles from 2001 to 2017, taking incredible dominance of Swiss football.
Now battling relegation, Basel haven’t won a league title in nearly seven years and could soon find themselves in the second tier.
This is an unbelievable drop and it means Millar surely won’t want to head back to Switzerland any time soon.
Millar has allegedly, as per the previous LEP report, settled well in the North West and that stance will give PNE hope of keeping him.
Sunderland have been linked with Millar too, allegedly viewing him as a potential replacement for Jack Clarke.
North End will hope that Millar has enjoyed his time enough to commit to a permanent move, and such a deal would mark a huge coup after an impressive loan stay.