Preston North End manager’s transfer stance on signing quartet including Aston Villa and Leeds United men

Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom has not ruled out moves for some of their current loan men, in the summer transfer window.

The Lilywhites currently have Sam Greenwood, Kaine Kesler-Hayden, Jayden Meghoma and Ryan Porteous on temporary deals, with the quartet having all featured regularly throughout their respective spells at Deepdale. The latter two arrived in January while Greenwood and Kesler-Hayden were summer recruits.

Recent reports have suggested North End will opt against triggering their option to buy Greenwood permanently, but that a return for Kesler-Hayden will be attempted. Porteous was brought in to cover the injured Jordan Storey at the time, with nothing longer-term implied.

Time will tell whether a second stint for Meghoma materialises or not, with this his first loan away from Brentford. In his latest press conference, Heckingbottom suggested that North End will look into all potential avenues regarding the four loanees.

"Yeah, definitely," said Heckingbottom. "We'll be in touch with them and definitely see. Like I said, you add into it the players whose contracts are up, the loans going back... we've got a lot of spaces to fill. First and foremost, we know the people who are in the building.

“So, whether that's retaining our own, speaking about loan players, we know them really well... we know what we're going to do with them. But, as I said, we want to improve all the time and if we continue to do what we're doing, we'll just get the same things. So, we have to be brave and aggressive and go and get the names that I've said. And if we can't, then we just keep banging and banging and being really aggressive.”

“There's so much work going on...”

Having been appointed in late August last year the PNE manager is yet to experience a full pre-season and summer transfer window at Deepdale. It’s one which promises to be tremendously busy, with up to 10 new signings potentially walking through the door.

As a result, Heckingbottom is keen to navigate the market as efficiently as possible and avoid becoming embroiled in sagas that drag out. The Lilywhites’ boss has cited the window as one of great significance, which will lay foundations for the club’s performance next year.

"I'd rather get an early 'no' than be hanging on, waiting for things, so there's so much work going on, so much,” explained the North End boss. “And, yeah, I think it's an opportunity that's got to be grasped. As I say, you think the work stops; seasons done. Now is the important time for next year... 100 per cent, it's started already. So, how well people perform this summer will determine a long way to what we do next year."

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