'Just don't want' - Ex-Preston North End boss airs his concern amid American takeover talk

Former Preston North End manager Simon Grayson would be wary of selling the football club to the wrong party, amid reports of American interest.

In recent weeks, two USA consortiums have been linked with a potential move to buy North End from the Hemmings family. The Lilywhites have played down the talk, with a ‘mystery Miami-based group’ first mentioned in the media - before the Lancashire Post reported interest from a New York firm.

North End have been owned by the Hemmings’ since 2010. After Trevor Hemmings CVO passed away in October 2021, his son Craig - chairman of the club - assumed the responsibility. Grayson - who managed the club from 2013-2017 - says that a steady hand on the wheel is not to be taken for granted.

"Well, I think first and foremost, the Hemmings family have been immense for the football club and the city,” Grayson told Football League World, via freebets.com. "The money that they've put in and where it's been - the gratitude people should show them is up there, because it's few and far between to have a club with very little debt - right through the world of football.

“It will take a lot of due diligence to make sure it's the right owners that come in, and the right price for them. It's alright people coming in and talking about having this amount of money, but how many times have people bought clubs and not invested in the right manner or taken them to the next level?

“Preston is one of those clubs that has been linked with takeovers in the past and they've then not happened, because it hasn't been the right fit for them. Craig and the rest of the family might think that at some point: ‘these are the right people, with the right money and backing to take the club forward’.

“But for now, that's one to keep an eye on. You just don't want it to go the other way from being a very stable football club, and probably the most stable club in the country, to one with more fluctuation and a lot of ambition about it, but carries no weight behind the back of it as well."