Preston North End linked with Blackpool loanee and former Tottenham striker with the transfer window now open

Media reports claim that the Lilywhites are interested in centre-half Ben Heneghan who has been released by Sheffield United and former Tottenham striker Reo Griffiths who is playing for French club Lyon.

However, PNE sources say the pair are not on the Deepdale radar.

North End were one of three clubs linked with 20-year-old Griffiths by a national newspaper, the other two being Sheffield Wednesday and Charlton.

The Londoner came through Spurs’ academy and was prolific at youth-team level, before choosing to move to France and join Lyon.

He has yet to play for Lyon’s first team and they are looking to loan him out to get first-team experience.

When a player gets linked with three clubs in this way, it can be a sign of an agent at work trying to drum up interest.

The main focus of North End in the transfer market will be on strikers.

Whether that would be in the shape of a punt on a player with no first-team experience, is doubtful. If North End are to push on, they are a stage when they need to do more than take a punt on a striker.

The link with Heneghan on Sky Sports came in the form of Preston rivalling Millwall for his services.

He is available on a Bosman after three years with Sheffield United, in which the defender played only once for the Blades.

Heneghan spent this season and last on loan with Blackpool, during which he played 80 games.

Currently North End are well staffed in the centre of defence.

They have Patrick Bauer, Ben Davies, Jordan Storey and Paul Huntington, with Andrew Hughes also having played there occasionally.

Davies is a player who could well attract interest from the Premier League and is one of a number of PNE players now in the last year of their current contracts.

Potentially that could leave North End in the market for a centre-half but it is not the case at the moment.

Were they to need another centre-half, Josh Earl would be back available to them after two loan spells away from Deepdale last season.

Although all of his football at PNE came as a left-back, Earl played as a centre-half when on loan at Bolton and has the height to do so.