What would a successful summer transfer window look like for Preston North End?

Still, the starting point with any writing around this topic is to reference Amr Zedan’s possible takeover of the club. The wait for more communication and clarity around that goes on, having had none since late January. In the same breath, nothing has come to light to suggest any issues or complications with it.

But from the outside, it is difficult to know exactly what PNE’s resources look like at this moment in time. It’s fair to assume that a completed takeover would mean a boosted transfer kitty; to what extent remains unknown. Clearly, new squad cost ratio rules will need to be abided by no matter who the owner is.

And by that same token, the Lilywhites’ tick list will not change either. Three of the four loan men to leave at the end of the season were featuring week in, week out, but Robbie Brady was the only senior player in and around the squad, who went on to depart. Will Keane had been out on loan and Jamal Lewis’ season ended in February.

The absolute, glaring vacancy right now is in attack, having lost Alfie Devine, Lewis Dobbin and Daniel Jebbison - who contributed 24 goals and 18 assists across all competitions last year. It remains to be seen whether all of Milutin Osmajic, Callum Lang and Michael Smith stay on board but that is the forward department at present.

There remains a core group of experienced, committed pros within Paul Heckingbottom’s squad but as the most recent campaign showed, they need supporting and boosting with injections of quality.

The loan market is a difficult one to ignore in that regard but ideally, Preston will have prepared meticulously for this on and manage to execute some strong, permanent recruitment which takes the team forward.

Last summer saw North End make their first step in adding more assets to the squad, but Heckingbottom knows there is a long way still to go. The ultimate test will be whether the club gets on a roll of selling and reinvesting. Time will tell if the coming months present some opportunities to do that.

Elsewhere in the squad, the manager suggested full-backs will be on the agenda. PNE’s wide areas will be interesting to keep an eye on; Heckingbottom has made noises about wishing to play with wingers but has so far, due to resources, stuck with a wing-back system and tried to make it fluid.

On paper, Thierry Small is the only natural winger within the current squad - Callum Lang has played there but that wasn’t the vision when he was recruited. You would assume Pol Valentin, Andrija Vukcevic and Odel Offiah are viewed as capable full-backs in a four but there is little to go off from Heckingbottom’s tenure to date.

Ben Whiteman, Ali McCann, Jordan Thompson, Andrew Moran and Brad Potts make up the senior options in midfield. Added flair and spark will surely be something PNE aim to add, having seen Harrison Armstrong, Mads Frokjaer and Devine leave from last season’s squad - as well as Stefan Thordarson.

Lots to bring in, then, to say the least and while numbers are OK in the heart of defence, some fresh blood and added presence wouldn’t go amiss in there either.

As mentioned, another key facet to the summer will be outgoings. Preston must be open-minded and if needed ruthless, should interest arise in players. It’s something that hasn’t happened enough over the years but would take North End a long way as a club.

To state the obvious, a major early step would be a concluded deal for last season’s loan star Alfie Devine, whose buy-option has been activated by the Lilywhites. The longer that situation drags on, doubt will naturally creep in. If PNE get it done the signing will lift mood and belief ten fold. If not, they’ll need to move on very quickly and fill a difficult hole.