Blackpool and Blackburn Rovers want Tom Bayliss with the midfielder attracting interest just months after leaving Preston North End.
Bayliss may stand at the top of the pile in terms of disappointing PNE signings in recent years.
The midfielder joined North End from Coventry City in 2019 with a seven-figure fee – believed to be around £1.2million plus add-ons – paid for him.
Bayliss had shown enormous potential at Coventry and some even felt that he was at a similar level to former Coventry talent James Maddison.
RONALDO, BALE AND 5 FAILED PREMIER LEAGUE HOMECOMINGS
PNE fans were understandably excited but Bayliss barely even kicked a ball for North End.
Bayliss managed just managed just two league starts for PNE and failed to make any kind of impression under Alex Neil or Frankie McAvoy.
Ryan Lowe then came in and, with Bayliss returning from a quiet loan spell at Wigan Athletic, decided to let Bayliss go.
North End paid up the final year of Bayliss’s contract and simply allowed him to walk away for nothing.
Shrewsbury Town swooped in and signed Bayliss in a decision that appears to be paying dividends, with the 23-year-old bagging three goals and two assists in his last nine games.
Bayliss is already attracting interest according to Football League World.
They claim that Middlesbrough and Reading are both looking at Bayliss, but so far PNE’s big Lancashire rivals Blackburn Rovers and Blackpool.
It would sting to see North End pay big money for a player, barely play him, pay up his contract and then see him earn a move to a big rival.
Ultimately though, PNE have to make the best decision for themselves in the moment and it was abundantly clear that Bayliss had no future at Deepdale.
It’s nice to see that Bayliss is getting his career back on track. There is definitely in his locker, but it just didn’t work at North End.
We can only hope that this doesn’t come back to bite North End with Bayliss turning out for a bitter rival in 2023.