Preston North End boss Ryan Lowe provides update on Tom Cannon pursuit from Everton

Patience appears to be the watchword as Preston North End continue to be strongly linked with Everton’s sought-after young hit-man Tom Cannon.

Speculation elsewhere has hinted that Cannon, 20, could be set for a return to Deepdale imminently after he impressed so much on loan last term when scoring eight times in 21 appearances.

However, there’s no movement yet.

Speaking ahead of the weekend, Lowe said: “There’s no secret we need another striker and another left-sided player. I can’t comment on Tom though, because he’s not our player.”

Pressed on whether he’d like to see Cannon back at Deepdale, Lowe added: “Who wouldn’t? He’s a quality player – we know that. The phone to Everton will always be ringing for a quality player like that, but we have to be patient in what we want to do.

“We’d love to have him back of course, but we can’t comment too much further because as I’ve said, he’s not our player.”

It was a busy day of transfer dealing for Preston yesterday. Defender Jack Whatmough arrived as the club’s sixth summer signing following his exit from Wigan, while last night it emerged that Bambo Diaby had transferred to Championship rivals Sheffield Wednesday.

Lowe added: “Bambo and I had a chat a couple of weeks ago about his future and where he potentially saw himself. As everyone knows, he’s a top, top fella, and we spoke because he wanted to play more games.

“We knew there was interest from a couple of other clubs, but I couldn’t let him leave until we had someone in the building to replace him. When we knew Jack was available, it was easy to do.

“We spoke last night and I wished him all the best, and you can see what he thought about this football club. He was grateful for his opportunity here, but I couldn’t guarantee him more minutes than what he was already getting.

“It was up to Bambo to keep performing to the levels we know he can reach, but getting Jack in means there’s still lots of competition, particularly across that back line. We’re pleased with the business we’ve done so far.”

Preston get their 2023/24 Championship campaign under way at Bristol City on Saturday.

Strike pairing Emil Riis and Ched Evans continue to be unavailable until September due to their injuries, while Ben Whiteman and Robbie Brady won’t be risked at Ashton Gate, though those two are close to a return.