Preston North End confirm signing of Greg Docherty as contract details revealed
Preston North End have added to their squad by signing the free agent until the end of the season.
Greg Docherty is officially a Preston North End player after a successful trial period with the club.
Docherty has been training for the club for over a week, after being released by Charlton Athletic on the final day of the summer transfer window, and has now signed with Preston on a short-term deal.
Graham Alexander has been on the hunt to bolster his squad options in the free agent market before the January transfer window opens, with his Preston side struggling at the bottom of the Championship table and winless in his six games in charge.
That led to Docherty coming into train with the squad at Euxton last Monday, with the manager being left impressed by his high levels of fitness after being without a club for two months, his attitude, and his previous achievements.
After the 30-year-old midfielder put in a good performance in a 62-minute appearance for the North End Under-21s on Monday night, Alexander revealed on Wednesday Preston were looking to ‘potentially progress’ and sign him to a deal.
That has now been confirmed , with Preston announcing Docherty has signed a contract until the end of the 2026-27 season.
Docherty said: ““I feel really proud to have joined this football club. My family and I are absolutely delighted to get this over the line and I can’t wait to get going on the pitch.
“I’ve always loved the idea of playing for Preston North End and I love Deepdale as a stadium too. I found it extremely tough playing here as an opposition player, so I’m glad to be on the other side now.
“I’ve had a really good feeling when speaking to the manager and when I see how passionate he is about turning this situation around, it gives me so much excitement to try and help change it too.”
Alexander was thrilled to get the deal over the line. He said: “We’re really pleased to bring Greg in. He’s been a captain, won promotions and knows the game inside out.
“Greg’s vocal, fit and motivated, which are all the key things you look for in a professional footballer.
“He has settled into the group really quickly and has a real willingness to show what he can do.”
Can Greg Docherty play for PNE against Southampton?
Docherty has been assigned the No.5 shirt number and he has been signed in time to be eligible for selection in Saturday’s game against Southampton at Deepdale.
Speaking in his press conference ahead of the game, Alexander said he thinks Docherty would be fit enough to be involved in the match.
He told BBC Radio Lancashire when asked if he is ready to be thrown straight in: “Potentially, yeah.
“I got his data from Monday night and you can see it anyway in training last week and we gave him a fitness test all the players have been through in pre-season, his score was really, really good.
“He's not trained with a team since he left his previous club on the last day of the window but you can see he's looked after himself. You can see he's done the right things.
“When a player has not been with a club for that period of time, then you can see he can pick up training and level of the game you already know you're getting a good professional.
“So I think he's shown that in the past 10 days but certainly he won't be at the level to churn out 95 minutes every three days but we do have the international break and then back into the fixtures to see how he is. “
With Leo Leroy suspended for the match following his fifth booking of the season, Docherty’s signing is very timely.
Docherty left Charlton despite being captain and having a year remaining on his contract by mutual consent as Nathan Jones said he needed to ‘evolve’ his side.
However, the Addicks have not won since his departure and find themselves one place above the relegation zone, with some supporters regretting the decision to let Docherty go.