Preston North End confirm contract extension for defender

Preston North End defender Greg Cunningham has triggered an extension to his contract until the summer of 2024.

The Irishman, who has played 175 games for the Lilywhites across two spells at Deepdale, had his deal extended over the summer. However, his contract was a short-term one through to December, with certain availability clauses inserted - allowing Cunningham the chance to earn a longer stay at North End.

Cunningham started the two matches before the international break and came off the bench at Stoke in early September, but he has consistently been in Ryan Lowe’s match day squad. Preston confirmed on Friday evening that Cunningham’s contract will now run through to June 30, 2024 instead of December 31, 2023.

On the news, Cunningham said: “It’s nice for me to know now I’ve got that security of being here for the rest of the season with the team - and who knows what comes after that. It’s just good to have already hit that first goal and now it’s about trying to rack up as many games as I can, do as well as I can for the club, and help the team wherever I can.”

Cunningham returned to the club in the 2020/21 campaign, having been sold to Cardiff City in the summer of 2018 following their promotion to the Premier League. He has had to bide his time for minutes this season, but a calf injury to Andrew Hughes has opened up a chance and Cunningham is in line to feature again in Saturday’s home clash against Millwall.