According to Football Insider, Ipswich Town are pursuing a deal for Preston North End playmaker Josh Harrop after he fell down the Deepdale pecking order.
It’s claimed that Harrop could join Ipswich on loan until the end of the season, with the Tractor Boys now thought to be working on a deal.
Harrop wasn’t involved in the Preston squad that lost 4-1 to Wycombe Wanderers on Saturday, even with the likes of Ethan Walker and Jacob Holland-Wilkinson on the bench.
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The 25-year-old has been struggling with an injury of late, which may have explained his absence, but there has been little said about his situation.
Harrop – signed for £650,000 from Manchester United in 2017 – has started just one Championship game, and managed only 65 minutes of league action since the end of October.
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A dismal showing against Wycombe Wanderers in December has pushed him down the pecking order, and it looks like he just isn’t in Alex Neil’s plans right now – even though he signed a new deal over the summer.
This summer is four years since Harrop arrived at Preston, but we’re yet to really see him string together any sort of consistent form or quality during his time at Deepdale.
He started 2020 well with two screamers against Blackburn Rovers and Charlton Athletic, but gradually faded again and hasn’t really recaptured that quality.
There is clearly a player in Harrop, and he does have quality on the ball, but he needs games – and a brief spell in League One with Ipswich could be ideal for his development right now.