Everton squad boost for Preston North End on the cards as new signings could feature

It’s been a tough pre-season for Everton so far, but manager Sean Dyche could have his squad boosted at Preston North End.

The Toffees are three games into their summer schedule, in comparison to the seven matches played by Ryan Lowe’s side. Everton started with a draw at Sligo Rovers, before defeats against Salford City and most recently, Coventry City.

They now head up to Deepdale, for what is PNE’s last friendly fixture before the Championship curtain raiser against Sheffield United - next Friday. It’s the second home match of the summer for Preston, as they look to head into the league campaign on a high.

As for the visitors, two new recruits could feature for the first time. On loan Napoli winger Jesper Lindstrøm, and Irish centre-back Jake O’Brien, are both said to be in contention. Senior duo James Tarkowski and Idrissa Gueye could both return from injury too.

Ahead of the game Dyche, who was disappointed with his side’s performance in the 3-0 loss to Coventry, said: “I know how competitive the Championship teams are. We weren’t as competitive. I am expecting a little bit of a delay on that from our group, because we are missing some important players - too many at the moment.

“We are trying to get minutes, we are trying not to break them because of the other injuries we have got. The only thing I am really disappointed in is you want players to come in and really lay down a marker. I don’t think we had too much of that. I thought the habits were miles off in the first half and most of the game, to be fair.”