Preston were linked with Bersant Celina earlier this summer but are now believed to have cooled that interest.
North End do have a chief playmaker in Daniel Johnson but he has been lacking in competition.
Add in that Johnson is out of contract in 2023 and Preston needed to add another technically-gifted midfielder.
Reports from Ipswich Town-based website TWTD earlier this summer suggested that Preston wanted to land Dijon playmaker Bersant Celina.
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Celina spent last season on loan at Ipswich, bagging six goals and six assists in 32 outings.
The Kosovo international worked under Ryan Lowe’s assistant Mike Marsh at Swansea City and a reunion was touted.
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Adding Celina as competition for Johnson would have been an interesting move – but Preston have gone in another direction.
North End have snapped up Ben Woodburn on a free transfer from Liverpool and he will likely serve as competition for Johnson moving forward.
So what now for Celina?
Well, TWTD have an update and claim that Preston have cooled their interest in signing Celina, which certainly makes sense after landing Woodburn.
It’s added that Stoke City have now emerged as the favourites to sign Celina this summer.
That means Preston could end up facing Celina in the Championship this coming season, no doubt that he doesn’t enjoy some fruitful outings against North End.
Turkish clubs are also keen on signing Celina, with Dijon keen to offload the former Manchester City talent this summer.
As with many players linked with Preston over the course of the summer transfer window, you can now likely cross Celina off the list of potential additions.