Blackburn Rovers could now win the race for Preston-linked defender John Souttar after opening talks over a pre-contract deal.
The Daily Record claim that Rovers have now opened talks over a pre-contract agreement with Souttar.
The Hearts defender in inside the final six months of his contract and can now agree to join Rovers for free this summer.
Rovers will allegedly offer a big wage rise to Souttar in the hope of fending off rival interest.
The Daily Record noted in November that Preston were in the race to sign Souttar with his contract running down.
Souttar, 25, has bounced back from three achilles tears to star for Hearts this season, even scoring for Scotland against Denmark.
That has made Souttar a man in demand, but it looks like he is now more likely to join rivals Rovers than Preston.
We would assume that Souttar was being eyed up by Preston if Patrick Bauer was to leave at the end of the season.
It now sounds like Bauer will be staying and signing a new deal, meaning signing a central defender in a back three isn’t as high of a priority for Preston.