Interest in Preston North End man after Aberdeen spell says boss - as future assessed
The PNE winger spent time on loan at Aberdeen last season
Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom says there has been interest from clubs in Jeppe Okkels.
The Dane is back with the Lilywhites after a loan spell at Aberdeen, in the second half of the 204/25 season. Okkels arrived at Deepdale for a seven-figure fee last summer, after just six months with FC Utrecht.
He made 10 appearances for PNE before heading to the Scottish club for game time. Under ex-Elfsborg manager Jimmy Thelin, Okkels played 18 games for Aberdeen and scored once.
The winger’s signature preceded Heckingbottom’s appointment last August. One issue was fitting him into the team, with the Preston boss deploying wing-backs and preferring others in that role.
When asked about his situation, Heckingbottom said: “He's got a future here. I spoke to him about it. There has been interest in him this summer; nothing's happened. His game time, it's determined by how well he plays - which will be the same as last year.
“We spoke about it a lot, me and Jeppe, last season. Then, when it came to January he had an opportunity to go and work with a manager who he knew and we felt it best for him, and us, for him to go and get more game time.
“So, yeah, he's the same. He's had minutes in pre-season, he's been training with us, had one moment when he was ill where he missed a week and a couple of games, but apart from that he's been in training.”