Preston North End boss Ryan Lowe admits transfer frustration, with two more departures this week

So far, North End have lost more players than they have signed, with Tom Cannon, Alvaro Fernandez, Liam Delap and Troy Parrott all returning to their parent clubs, as well as Daniel Johnson and Josh Onomah both leaving on free transfers.

The only incoming so far will be Calvin Ramsay on loan from Liverpool, as he is set to join up with the squad officially in the middle of next month when back to full fitness.

“We’d have liked to have had one or two more potentially through the door, but it hasn’t been for the lack of trying,” Lowe told the PNE website on Monday.

“We got down the line with one and it petered out a little bit, but to get Calvin done early doors [was good].

“He’s with Liverpool for the time being. He’ll come to Spain with us and then he’ll be with us full-time after that. He’s just recovering from a niggling injury he had.

“Liverpool want to keep him there which is fine and that’s good by us, but he’ll be ready to go when he comes. He’ll be game ready which is important.”

It’s been hard going so far for the North End boss when it comes to recruitment but he’s not panicking about their situation, even if their pre-season training has now begun.

They will have their first pre-season friendly of the summer on Saturday, against Bamber Bridge, 3pm, and so far there will be no new faces to feature in the curtain raiser.

Lowe said: “We’re down the line with a few players. We’ve got meetings with agents and Zoom calls and everything else which goes with it which is hard work.

“The last week’s been tough in terms of the calls we’ve got to make and the Zooms you’ve got to do, presentations you’ve got to do, but it’s part and parcel.

“We’re on with one or two today. There’s a couple of potential offers out there already as of today, we’ve made sure we got those out.

“It's fine. I’m quite comfortable with where we are. I think the whole business is quite slow, but as I’ve said numerous times we’ve got to recruit smartly and that’s what we’ll continue to do.”