Who is Duane Holmes? Strengths and weaknesses of Preston North End’s latest signing

Preston North End swooped to sign Duane Holmes from Huddersfield Town earlier this week. The twice-capped USA international has penned a two-year deal at Deepdale.

He has become the Lilywhites’ third signing of the summer. Here is a look at his strengths and weaknesses...

Strengths

Holmes will provide Preston with more competition and depth in their midfield department and will inject more creativity into their ranks. He made 86 appearances for the Terriers after joining them in 2021 and scored 10 times which shows he is a goal threat and isn’t afraid to get into forward areas.

The former Scunthorpe United and Derby County is experienced in the Football League which will come in handy for Ryan Lowe’s side. He has played 301 games in his career to date and knows the Championship inside out which means he should adapt easily to life in Lancashire.

Using data from Wyscout, Holmes had a passing accuracy of 79.4% last season for Huddersfield as he helped them stay up in the Championship under Neil Warnock. He also completed 67.4% of dribbles for the Yorkshire club and he is a player to take people on.

Weaknesses

This isn’t a long-term addition by Preston as Holmes’ is 28 now and turns 29 in November. A lot of clubs in the second tier tend to go for transfer targets aged 24 and under but the Lilywhites have opted to go for his experience and know-how instead of bringing in someone younger.

His 5ft 6inc height works in his favour in terms of agility and trickery. However, he isn’t the type of individual you would be pumping aerial balls into the box for or someone who will be scoring lots of headers.