Former Preston North End and Middlesbrough star in transfer talks with League Two club

Former Preston North End forward Adam Reach is reportedly in discussions about joining Carlisle United.

That's according to Football League World, who claim Reach is willing to end his period of free agency, to join the Cumbrians. Reach has been without a club since May after being released by West Brom, and was recently on trial at Championship rivals Swansea City.

With over half the season gone, he could find himself in the midst of a relegation battle, with Carlisle battling to preserve their EFL status. Carlisle were only relegated from League One last year, but find themselves bottom of the Football League, and six points adrift of safety.

That's something that won't phase Reach however, as he admitted in October he was willing to drop down a division. He's just a few games shy of 400 matches in the Championship, but could find himself playing in English football's fourth tier for the first time in his career.

“I'd go down, I'd go sideways, I'd go everywhere,” he said to The League Paper.

“The whole world is an option for me right now. I think I'm just shy of 400 games in the Championship, but I'm not naive enough to think that I deserve to be in the Championship just because I've played there for the last ten years or whatever.

"If there's an opportunity that comes up pretty much anywhere, I'd jump at the chance. I'm quite lean and naturally fit.

“Apart from last season when I tore my quad, I've never had any major injuries. In my opinion, I could play for another six, seven, eight years minimum. I just need someone to pick up the phone."

Adam Reach’s Preston North End career

Reach joined Preston North End on loan from Middlesbrough in the 2015/16 season. He made 36 appearances, registering four goals and three assists for the campaign. During his time at Deepdale he played in several positions, including left-wing, left wing-back, and as part of a front three as a lone striker.

Reach returned to Middlesbrough in the summer, but would later be signed for Sheffield Wednesday, in a deal worth around £5m. He'd go on to spend five seasons as a player at Hillsbrough, before later joining West Brom on a free transfer, turning out for them for three seasons.

“I would have loved to have signed Adam," said then manager at the time Simon Grayson to the Evening Post.

“But when he’s going for £5m it shows it’s not a level playing field when it comes to finances.

“If it had been a million, we could have had a go but it would have still been a very rich deal for us.”