Preston North End midfielder Tom Bayliss nearing exit as Shrewsbury Town line up a deal

The midfielder still has a year left on his contract at Deepdale but the club are working with the 23-year-old to cancel his contract, allowing him to make a move elsewhere.

The Shrews, managed by former Burnley boss Steve Cotterill, are increasingly confident of getting a deal done for the Leicester-born man over the coming days.

Bayliss was transfer listed this summer by the Lilywhites as he does not fit into Ryan Lowe’s plans. There has been an element of misfortune for the former Coventry City prospect, who joined North End for seven figures, as midfield has been the strongest area of the team since his arrival.

He has had to be patient for his chance but unlike Ryan Ledson, who similarly was made to wait, he has not been able to establish himself in the first team in PR1.

He spent last season on loan at Wigan Athletic where, in one season, he nearly made as many appearances as three at PNE. He’s played in blue and white 21 times - he made 17 appearances for the Latics last campaign.

There were hopes that North End fans would see more of Tom Bayliss last season, as he had come off the bench a few times towards end of the season before, under then interim head coach Frankie McAvoy.

Game time did not materialise however and instead he left for the DW, where he did win the League One title.

A permanent move to League One will end a disappointing time at PNE for Bayliss, who arrived with plenty of expectation and hope. Fans had been calling to see more of their no.7 at different points over the last three years but under three different bosses, he has failed to make the step up into a first team regular.

Another player attracting some interest is another of North End’s transfer listed trio, Matthew Olosunde. The right back joined the club at the start of last season but he played just twice, against Blackburn Rovers and Swansea City respectively, and the American was left out of the squad for the second half of last season.

At this moment, there is no interest in Josh Harrop, the third of the transfer listed players.