Preston North End reportedly identify Greg Docherty as possible free agent signing

Preston North End are ‘looking at’ Greg Docherty as a possible free agent signing, according to reports.

Graham Alexander told The Post last week that Preston were looking at which players available on a Bosman transfer could come in and help the club while they sit bottom of the Championship table without several injured stars.

According to Alan Nixon on his Patreon, experienced midfielder Docherty is being considered as that possible addition following his departure from Charlton Athletic in September.

Clubs are allowed to register free agents to play outside of the transfer window as long as they have room in their 25-man squads, with North End currently having 24 senior players in theirs.

That leaves one slot available which could be filled by Docherty, with Nixon reporting he could be an ‘instant solution’ for Alexander ‘after checking out Doherty in training.’

It’s added that the 30-year-old is ‘keen to play as soon as possible in the Championship.’ Preston are light in midfield as captain Ali McCann is still recovering from a hamstring injury and Liam Gibbs is side-lined.

Why Greg Docherty left Charlton

Docherty signed for Charlton from Hull City on a free transfer in 2024 and was quickly appointed captain at The Valley as he helped them earn promotion to the Championship in 2025 via the Play-Offs.

He made 90 appearances for the Addicks, scoring five goals, before his departure was announced on September 2.

Interestingly, the versatile midfielder was not out of contract with Charlton as his deal did not expire until June 2027, and he played one game for them this season in a 5-1 Carabao Cup defeat to Tottenham Hotspur.

Instead, Docherty left by mutual consent, with Charlton boss Nathan Jones explaining he would not be able to give the skipper enough playing time this season.

Jones said at the time: “Doc from the moment that I met him was everything that I believed he was. He’s a leader, an unbelievable pro and he should take his rightful place in the history of Charlton Athletic.

“He captained the football club through a tough time to promotion in his first season and then he was instrumental in pretty much all of the wins we had in the Championship last season - we needed our captain, he showed up.

"The tough thing is, we want to evolve, we want to improve on every level and it meant that Doc’s game time was probably going to be more limited than he wanted. We had open conversations around that and felt that this was the best way forward.

"Doc has been an inspirational captain, he’s been wonderful to deal with every day, I cannot speak highly enough of him. He leaves the club with masses and masses of respect, with our thanks and our gratitude and with a real heavy heart because we’re going to miss him.

"We thank him for everything. He gave us, and certainly gave me, one of the greatest days I've ever had, at Wembley. I wish him all the best, he’s always welcome back at this football club."

On his departure, Docherty said: “To be named captain of such an iconic football club was nothing short of a privilege. I felt the weight and expectation that title carries, but I can wholeheartedly say I gave my absolute all to represent the club properly every single day with the upmost respect that I felt it deserved through the good and the bad moments.

"I’ll always be grateful for my time at Charlton and everything the club has given me, but football moves fast I’m now excited to see what the future holds."

Docherty had made well over 350 career appearances, 129 coming in the Championship. He played over 100 games for Hull and Hamilton Academical, while also counting Rangers, Hibernian and Shrewsbury amongst his former clubs. He is also a former Scotland U21 international.

What Graham Alexander has said about signing a free agent

When asked last Wednesday if Preston were considering signing a free agent, Alexander revealed they were, but any signing would have to be fit enough to make an immediate impact.

“Yeah, we've sort of spoke about that this week in particular actually,” he said.

“Looking at who's potentially available, if they can come in and help us, potentially.

The problem you've got there is you're probably bringing in players who are not at the level fitness wise to help us in the short term.

"Unless they've been training with a team consistently or with the PFA and stuff like that.

"That's the information we're trying to find out right now."