Preston North End’s sale of Milutin Osmajic is only good business if adequate replacements are brought in

Based on that idea alone, Heckingbottom would have been pleased to see Milutin Osmajic swap PNE for Genoa earlier this week after three years at the club, with North End making a profit - albeit reportedly less than £1m - on the Montenegrin striker.

It’s been a tumultuous time for Osmajic at Deepdale. He missed 20 games in an 18-month spell through suspensions and bans, and those incidents will form part of his legacy at the club.

There was undoubtedly a talented player there. He was PNE’s top scorer in the 2024/25 campaign and netted two hat-tricks over four months.

From the outside looking in, though, it may seem that it is for the best that both parties have shaken hands and started afresh.

Additionally, from purely a business point of view, it made sense to offload Osmajic. He had a year left on his deal and there has long been frustration that many of PNE’s more valuable assets have often left on free transfers.

But it is not quite that simple. North End’s squad is short on numbers and the need to sign players is far, far greater than the need to sell them, especially if they are in the attacking department, which Heckingbottom has consistently stressed the club needs to urgently bolster.

That leaves PNE facing a pivotal week. Bring in the players they need, and they can head into September with a stronger, more balanced attack. Fail to do so, and Osmajic’s departure will look a far less sensible decision than it did when the deal was agreed.

PNE will add to their forward options before the transfer window closes - they have to - but with the clock ticking down, the market becoming increasingly competitive and Heckingbottom visibly frustrated, there is a nervous wait to see who comes through the door.

There is reason to be optimistic about the week ahead when you consider the summer so far. The six players North End have brought in this window have all been well-received and the money spent has been a welcome surprise.

The club fought off interest from newly-relegated sides Wolves and Burnley and Scottish champions Celtic to sign Alfie Devine for a club-record fee, while Léo Leroy and Harry Clarke have impressed since joining two weeks ago in deals in excess of £4m combined.

PNE’s summer spending this year is significantly higher than any other in their history, and there’s no reason why the club can’t continue to show that ambition in the final week of the window by turning the money generated from the Osmajic deal into meaningful additions.

Ultimately, it is only when replacements come through the doors at Euxton that North End can properly judge whether selling Osmajic was the right decision.

His departure has further exposed the current lack of depth in the squad. As things stand, they have just one out-and-out senior striker available: Jusef Erabi, who is on loan from Genk. His involvement in Wednesday’s Carabao Cup clash with Everton is touch-and-go after he picked up a knock against Wolves at the weekend.

Callum Lang and Delano Burgzorg can both operate as a number nine if required, but that is not where Heckingbottom sees either player contributing in a North End shirt.

Using them there would risk doing the very thing the PNE boss said he is trying to avoid in Monday’s pre-match press conference: putting more ‘square pegs in round holes’, as he looks to make his change in shape a success.

There is, of course, the option of George Gryba. The 17-year-old striker made his professional debut against Wolves on Saturday and impressed during his cameo, which was a memorable moment for the youngster and his family.

But expecting Gryba to help compensate for the goals and experience lost through the departures of Osmajic, Will Keane, Daniel Jebbison and Lewis Dobbin would be unrealistic.

It would be great to see the 17-year-old continue to push into the first-team picture this season - he certainly has the drive and work rate - but he will need to be managed carefully and have experienced players around him to learn from.

The need to move quickly is therefore obvious. Heckingbottom knows this too, but admitted on Monday that the longer the club waits to bring players in, ‘the less confidence you have in landing your plan A’.

He reiterated on Monday that the incomings over the next week will ultimately determine what shape North End use this season.

Speaking about the switch to a back four, he told the Lancashire Post: “If we do add good quality wide players to that, we can stay with it and keep working on it. But if we are [going] to, we've got a lot of work to do.

“But likewise, we can't be putting square pegs in round holes as well. And if we can't get the players who fit that, then we have to shift.”

After years of supporters calling for a change in shape, it would be hugely frustrating if a lack of incomings forced Heckingbottom back to the drawing board.

So far in 2026, North End have brought in eight signings who remain part of the squad, while 15 players who made first-team appearances for the club last season have departed, including loanees.

They currently have 20 senior players on their books, just enough to make a matchday squad - if they were all fully fit. The lightness of the group is clear to see.

Osmajic was a controversial figure at North End to say the least, but he gave everything in a PNE shirt and had a knack for producing important goals at important moments. North End must find the right personnel to replicate that side of his game.

PNE have created the money. Now, they have to spend it.