Preston North End's last 16 transfer deadline day signings - from Liverpool swoop to £2.1m recruit

The close of the 2025 summer transfer window is just around the corner.

Ahead of what will be a significant day for Preston North End and the rest of the Championship - as last gasp business is eyed - we look back at the deals North End have completed on transfer deadline day over the past 10 years.

Ryan Porteous (February 2025)

The Scot defender was, at the time, still a big part of Watford’s squad, starting a number of the Hornets’ games early in the 2024/25 season despite a disappointing Euros campaign for his nation.

However, Watford allowed Porteous to leave on a loan deal in January of this year, with Hull City initially linked to him, as well as Sheffield United.

It was North End, though, who secured his signature late in the winter window, in need of a centre back reinforcement with the absence of Jordan Storey through injury.

He went on to make 11 appearances for Heckingbottom’s side, being named player of the match in his home debut against Burnley and scoring the opener in a 2-1 win over Portsmouth a month later.

Porteous moved permanently from Watford to MLS side LAFC this summer for a fee that was reported to be around $1 million.

Josh Bowler (August 2024)

The arrival of the winger on a season-long loan brought with it a lot of promise after a solid campaign on loan at Cardiff.

Earlier in his career, Bowler also enjoyed a permanent spell at rivals Blackpool, scoring 10 goals in 52 games.

Premier League side Nottingham Forest snapped him up from the Seasiders in 2022 – he is still yet to make a senior appearance for them.

Bowler’s move back up to Lancashire last summer never really worked out and he found it tough to break into the starting lineup, with Forest recalling him at the end of January and immediately loaning him back out to Luton Town, where he also struggled for game time as the Hatters were ultimately relegated.

With just days remaining in this window, Bowler remains at Forest, to whom he is contracted until next June, and playing for the under-21s.

A move to League One outfit Reading reportedly broke down in July and, since then, there have been no suggestions that he will depart the City Ground this summer.

Milutin Osmajic (August 2023)

The Montenegro international arrived at Deepdale in the closing stages of the 2023 summer window for a club record fee, which still stands to this day. Osmajic joined PNE from La Liga side Cadiz, having spent the previous two seasons on loan in Turkey and Portugal at Bandirmaspor and Vizela.

He quickly became a fan favourite and remains at North End, racking up 26 goals across 82 appearances. The Montenegrin has registered two hat tricks while at PNE, the first coming inside eight minutes after being substituted on against Huddersfield in April 2024, the second against Harrogate in the Carabao Cup in August 2024 in a 5-0 win.

Liam Millar (August 2023)

The captivating Canadian joined on a season-long loan from Swiss side Basel and was praised and loved by PNE fans straight away, scoring on his debut, a 2-1 win over Plymouth Argyle in September 2023.

A winger by trade, Millar played as a wing-back and got five goals and five assists while at Deepdale, one of each coming during a superb performance in a Boxing Day win against Leeds United, his strike winning the 2023/24 Goal of the season award

North End were linked with a permanent move for him the following summer but his desire to play as a winger rather than further down the field saw him opt for Hull City.

He suffered an anterior cruciate ligament injury in October 2024 which ruled him out for the remainder of the season and it is widely hoped that he will return to action for the Tigers at some point this autumn.

Josh Onomah (January 2023)

Fulham mutually terminated the versatile midfielder’s contract on the final day of the January 2023 window, and was immediately linked to a host of Championship teams.

Onomah swiftly chose North End and signed on the dotted line, all on the same day, and then-manager Ryan Lowe told BBC Lancashire that convincing him to come was so important that he “came off the training pitch to Zoom him” and talk him into coming to Deepdale.

After needing a few weeks of Central League games to get him up to speed, Onomah showed real flashes of quality in his short spell at the club, notably in the two games that fell over that Easter weekend against QPR and Reading.

Fans were hopeful that he would stay and sign a longer-term deal at the club but Onomah and PNE were reportedly unable to reach an agreement and became a free agent.

That remained the case until October 2024 when he signed for arch rivals Blackpool, who he left this summer – he is now unattached once again.

Bambo Diaby (January 2022)

Diaby joined PNE on trial in December 2021 as he looked to gain fitness and possibly find a team after his two-year doping ban drew to an end.

The defender began his trial while Frankie McAvoy was in charge but the Scot saw little of him in action and was replaced by Ryan Lowe.

He signed for PNE on Deadline Day, around two weeks after his ban was lifted and made seven appearances during that season, then a further 18 the season after.

Diaby was another popular player amongst fans and was named Community Champion by PNE after the close of the 2022/23 season.

He joined Sheffield Wednesday for an undisclosed fee in August 2023, before heading to Spain and signing for second division side Elche.

Ali McCann (August 2021)

The midfielder made the move to England after a hugely successful season at St Johnstone where, under former North End full-back Callum Davidson, he played a major role as they won the domestic cup double.

McCann was reportedly the subject of interest from Celtic and Stoke City earlier that window, but PNE managed to seal a deal – according to Alan Nixon, the paperwork for the signing went in five seconds before the deadline.

Since joining, the Northern Ireland international has been a regular in the side and has been praised by North End fans for his tirelessness to win back the ball and his pace.

He was one of the most consistent performers last season, winning five Player of the Match awards.

Josh Murphy (August 2021)

In 2018, Murphy moved to a newly-promoted Premier League side in Cardiff for a fee widely believed to be eight-figures.

Initially part of that team who valiantly attempted to avoid the drop in 2019, Murphy saw the loan move to PNE in 2021as an opportunity to ‘enjoy playing football again’, as he told the club website at the time.

Unfortunately for Murphy, it never really panned out that way and, after making only 12 appearances in a season plagued by injuries, his loan was cut short in April 2022, with Ryan Lowe claiming that both he and Izzy Brown, who left at the same time, had not met his standards.

However, fast forward three years later and Murphy remains in the Championship with Portsmouth, and had the season of his career at Fratton Park last year, racking up seven goals and 14 assists across 42 appearances for John Mousinho’s side.

Prior to that, Murphy had been at Oxford United, for whom he had scored the two vital goals that sealed their promotion to the Championship in the League One Playoff final against Bolton Wanderers in May 2024.

Josh Murphy’s career has been revitalised since departing Deepdale, which is remarkable given that, in a 2024 interview with the Mirror, he revealed that he did once consider retiring, pondering to himself ‘do I want to carry on playing football… am I good enough?’

Anthony Gordon (February 2021)

In the last of three Deadline Day acquisitions back in February 2021, then-Everton starlet Anthony Gordon joined on loan for the remainder of the season.

Initially a deal in doubt as Everton needed to secure the signature of former Bournemouth striker Josh King before allowing any outgoings in forward positions, Gordon arrived as a highly-rated pickup.

The winger, who was 19 at the time, started his spell strongly showing glimpses of the quality we now see week in, week out for Newcastle in the Premier League and Champions League but, during a time of major change for the club, Gordon found it increasingly difficult to hold down a consistent place in the team.

Alex Neil, who had experimented with a 3-5-2 in his final weeks as North End boss, was replaced in March 2021 by assistant Frankie McAvoy who was dead set on that formation, making it harder for Gordon to play his natural game – he only started five of the 18 games he was available for.

The following season saw Gordon have a breakout year at Goodison Park and, a matter of months down the line, he was the subject of a £40 million move to Newcastle where the England international has been a first team regular.

Gordon won his first cap for the Three Lions at senior level in March 2024 and scored for them in November of that year in a Nations League game against Republic of Ireland.

Sepp van den Berg (February 2021)

Van den Berg joined PNE on loan from Liverpool as part of the deal that saw fellow defender Ben Davies go the other way, after being with the club for 15 years.

After impressing over the final three months of the season, Sepp’s stay at Deepdale was extended to the end of the 2021/22 season, during which he made over 50 appearances and was named Young Player of the Year.

Loan spells at Bundesliga sides Schalke, where he was kept out for most of the season due to a serious ankle injury, and Mainz followed before a permanent move to Brentford in the summer of 2024 for a fee of £20m with £5m in add-ons.

The Dutchman made 29 starts for the Bees last year and has also started this season in a centre-back partnership with club captain Nathan Collins.

Liam Lindsay (February 2021)

The Scot arrived at Deepdale at the start of a hectic night for the club, with Van den Berg, Gordon and Davies’ moves all still yet to be made official.

Lindsay had signed for Stoke City in 2019 and, at first, had been a solid starter for the Potters, but he had been out of favour for the best part of a year when he moved, initially on loan to PNE.

A very impressive set of performances, which included two goals in 13 games, led to the move being made permanent the following summer.

Four years on, ‘Linds’ remains at North End, with the aerially dominant centre back making big defensive, and sometimes attacking, contributions: he scored on Tuesday in a 3-2 Carabao Cup defeat to Wrexham and last season got his best goal return over a campaign in England.

Lukas Nmecha (August 2018)

Nmecha joined from Manchester City in what was his first opportunity to get regular football.

He was highly thought of at the Etihad, having made his Premier League debut as a substitute the season before.

The versatile forward made 44 appearances for the Whites in 2018/19, registering three goals and five assists.

After his return to City, Wolfsburg loaned hm for half a season, the rest of which he spent at fellow Championship side Middlesbrough.

His best goal scoring campaign followed as he netted 21 times for RSC Anderlecht in the Belgian Pro League.

Nmecha returned to Wolfsburg on a permanent basis in 2021 and, after a strong start to life back in his home country, he was called up to the senior national squad, making his debut in November 2021 and winning six further caps.

His time at Wolfsburg was overshadowed by regular long-term injuries, particularly in the 2023/24 season where he only made four appearances.

However, newly-promoted Premier League side Leeds United brought Nmecha in on a free transfer in June and he has made a fine start at Elland Road, scoring from the spot in a 1-0 win over Everton on the opening weekend.

Aiden McGeady (August 2016)

McGeady was only at North End for one season, but his performances in a Preston shirt will live long in the memory.

The Irishman, who had previous stints at Celtic and Spartak Moscow before joining on loan from Everton, got eight goals and nine assists during his season at PNE, blowing fans away with his sheer magical displays on the wing.

He was awarded Championship Player of the Month in February 2017 and won both North End’s Player of the Year and Player’s Player of the Year awards.

He was close to returning to the club for the following season but opted to join Sunderland and work under Simon Grayson again, who had left Preston that summer too.

McGeady continued to impress at the Black Cats, and was part of te squad that won them promotion back to the Championship in 2022.

He later had spells at Hibernian and Ayr United before retiring in October 2024.

Marnick Vermijl (August 2016)

The Manchester United academy gradate had initially been at PNE in the 2015/16 campaign on a loan deal from Sheffield Wednesday, but it took until Deadline Day the following season for North End to go back in for him again and make it permanent.

The Belgian was a decent option at full back for PNE in their first season back in the Championship, making 32 appearances and scoring twice, but once he made the move full time, he didn’t quite solidify himself in the first team picture.

He was loaned out to then-League One Scunthorpe in the winter of 2018, then Dutch second tier outfit MVV Maastricht for the following campaign.

PNE released Vermijl in 2019 and he signed for Maastricht on a permanent deal soon after.

The defender, now 33, has spent the last five years of his career in his home country of Belgium, firstly at Thes FC and now at Bocholt, in the third and fourth tiers of the country’s footballing pyramid respectively.

Alex Baptiste (August 2016)

Arriving at Deepdale with loads of EFL experience, particularly in Lancashire, Baptiste signed for PNE on loan from Middlesbrough.

He had spent five years at Blackpool, before moving on to successive spells at Bolton Wanderers and Blackburn Rovers.

Struggling for first team football at Boro, who were at this time a Premier League club, after a serious leg injury in a pre-season friendly the year before, Baptiste was signed to be another option for North End in an already healthy centre back department, featuring Tom Clarke and Paul Huntington amongst others.

He made 24 appearances for PNE, scoring three times and signed for five more teams before hanging up his boots in 2023.

He spent two seasons at QPR and was loaned out to Luton Town, before moving to Doncaster Rovers, then returning to Bolton in 2020 and winning promotion to League One.

He rounded off his playing days at League of Ireland Premier Division side Waterford, completing over 600 appearances in a career spanning 20 years.

Stevie May (September 2015)

The Scottish striker was one of Simon Grayson’s new recruits in the summer PNE returned to the Championship, and he arrived with a great track record in his home country.

He had scored 74 goals in three seasons playing for St Johnstone, Alloa Athletic and Hamilton Academical before moving to Sheffield Wednesday in 2014.

Seven goals in 42 games was something that May could have built on when he swapped Hillsborough for Deepdale, but he suffered an awful knee ligament injury in November 2015 which kept him out of action for 16 months, and his North End career never really got going again.

He returned to Scotland in 2017 to play for Aberdeen, where he scored a handful of goals across two seasons.

A move to St Johnstone in 2019 saw him play his best and most consistent football since his injury and he stayed at the club until 2024, when Livingston loaned him, and later made the move permanent.

Eoin Doyle (September 2015)

Doyle’s arrival was announced at the same time as May’s, and the Irishman’s arrival looked very exciting on paper.

Having racked up double figures for goals in all four of the Ireland Premier Division, Scottish Premiership and Leagues One and Two, as well as a solid spell at Cardiff City from whom he had joined on loan, Doyle had a strong track record prior to moving to Deepdale.

After scoring four goals in 29 matches, he signed a three year deal at North End, leaving the Bluebirds.

He and teammate Jermaine Beckford were involved in a heated exchange in a Championship game against Sheffield Wednesday, just minutes after scoring his third goal of the season.

Both players were shown red cards and Doyle was loaned out to Portsmouth, followed by Oldham Athletic the season after before leaving permanently for Bradford City in 2018.

Doyle also had spells at Swindon Town and Bolton in the latter stages of his career, scoring 52 goals in the 102 games he played for those two clubs, before moving back to the League of Ireland and retiring in 2023.