Preston North End midfielder linked with move to Italy

Links emerged over the weekend in Ireland with a move to Europe for the 21-year-old, who is currently out on loan at St Patrick’s Athletic in the Irish top flight.

O’Reilly’s loan is set to run until the end of July though there is scope to extend it further. He has been a key player for St Pat’s this season, playing 21 times and racking up over 1,500 minutes. He’s well thought of in the League of Ireland and there will likely be interest in his services should he be available for a move.

It does look like O’Reilly’s time at PNE will be coming to an end however as he has not had much involvement with the first team in recent seasons, despite making his debut four years ago against Aston Villa in 2018.

He did feature in the reserve side last season but was never really seen around the first team squad and his fellow academy graduates around his age, Jack Baxter and Ethan Walker, have both been let go.

North End boss Ryan Lowe seems more keen on the younger talent who still have more time to develop, feeling that if they have not yet made their mark on the first team several years on from their debut, they likely won’t make the grade.

Como finished 13th in Serie B last season, a season of consolidation having been promoted as Serie C champions the season prior. O’Reilly would not be the only Irishman in the Italian club’s ranks, with Liam Kerrigan joining them from UCD this summer.