Any lingering hope of Preston North End snapping up Fleetwood Town defender James Hill appear to be over as Bournemouth close in on a deal.
Hill, 19, was targeted by Preston over the summer after shining down the road at Fleetwood.
In the end, Preston re-signed Sepp van den Berg on loan from Liverpool and seemed to move away from Hill.
Football League World did note in August that Preston are keeping tabs on Hill this season.
After all, Van den Berg will be returning to Liverpool at the end of the season and Preston will need to replace him.
However, it looks like the ship has well and truly sailed when it comes to Hill.
The Sun’s Tom Barclay has reported on Twitter that Hill is all set for a £1.6million move to Bournemouth.
The Cherries have just allowed Steve Cook to join Nottingham Forest and are seemingly signing Hill as his replacement.
You have to wonder whether Preston would have been willing to pay that kind of money for Hill, whose contract expires this summer.
The son of former Preston defender Matt Hill, it would have been amazing to see James in the North End side.
Sadly, it now looks like he will join forces with Ben Pearson down on the South Coast in a seven-figure deal.