According to The Athletic, Burnley will now lose defender Jimmy Dunne, who was linked with a move to Preston in January.
Burnley are on the verge of signing Stoke City defender Nathan Collins, meaning he will join Ben Mee, James Tarkowski and Ben Mee as Burnley’s main centre back options.
The Clarets allegedly did want to keep Dunne too, but he is set to leave Turf Moor in search of first-team football.
Why is Dunne leaving Burnley?
The 23-year-old centre back was once on the books at Manchester United, but has struggled for playing time since heading to Burnley in 2016.
He has though shown promise on loan at the likes of Barrow, Accrington Stanley, Heart of Midlothian, Sunderland and Fleetwood Town.
With that in mind, the Irishman has now turned down the offer of a new contract in order to play regularly elsewhere.
Now relegated to fifth-choice at Burnley, Dunne seemingly knows that his days at the club are numbered and he must leave.
Preston’s interest in Dunne
The Sun reported in January that Preston wanted to sign Dunne on loan, and some may wonder whether North End will go back in.
Preston already have four right-footed centre backs though, with Sepp van den Berg, Jordan Storey, Patrick Bauer and Paul Huntington all on the books.
It’s hard to see another centre back coming in unless another one leaves, but a move for a talented young defender with Ireland youth caps does make some sense for North End given that Bauer, Huntington and Storey are all inside the final year of their contracts.