Preston have signed Robbie Brady as the free agent joins Ben Woodburn in penning a permanent deal with the club after being on trial.
North End confirmed Woodburn’s signing on a one-year deal with the option of a second year earlier this evening.
After weeks of fans begging for signings, Preston went and delivered another signing just 45 minutes after confirming Woodburn’s deal.
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Preston have signed Robbie Brady
North End have announced the signing of fellow trialist Robbie Brady, handing the Irish international a one-year deal at Deepdale.
Brady was a free agent after his Bournemouth contract expired last week.
The Cherries showed an interest in keeping Brady after winning promotion to the Premier League but he has now moved on.
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Brady joined up with Preston as a trialist last week and has already done enough to earn a contract – despite not playing against Bamber Bridge on Saturday.
Brady, 30, has top-level experience with Hull City, Norwich City and Burnley and has an absolute wand of a left foot.
The Irishman is likely to feature as a left wing back with Preston and the quality he possesses on the ball will certainly add a threat to the Preston side.
Yet whilst Ryan Lowe has talked up Brady as an ‘unbelievable talent’, the big fear with Brady is injuries.
Brady hasn’t managed more than 20 league appearances in a season since the 2016-17 campaign.
After leaving Burnley last summer, Brady joined up with Bournemouth last season and started just two Championship games last term.
Brady’s total minutes for Bournemouth stood at just 191 across six appearances with injuries continuing to be a problem.
Bournemouth boss Scott Parker noted last season that Brady just couldn’t stay fit for ‘any amount of time’ during their promotion campaign.
Given that Ryan Lowe wanted a robust Championship squad that could rack up appearances on a regular basis, Brady doesn’t really fit the bill.
In terms of quality and experience, Brady ticks the boxes for Preston – but much like we’re left hoping that Woodburn can rediscover his form, we’re now hoping that Brady can stay fit; hardly ideal when two signings come with hope rather than expectation, but Lowe will believe in both players to be worthwhile signings.
After going for Izzy Brown and Connor Wickham last summer and quickly seeing them go down with injuries, let’s hope it doesn’t happen again.