'As things stand...' - Championship boss expects Sunderland and Sheffield United 'target' to leave this summer

Reported Sunderland striker target Emil Riis looks set to leave current club Preston North End at the end of the season “as things stand”, according to head coach Paul Heckingbottom.

The Black Cats were linked with a move for the Dane during the January transfer window, but an exit from Deepdale ultimately failed to materialise. Regis Le Bris’ side then saw the damage that Riis is capable of causing first hand earlier this week when he scored the opening goal in a 1-1 draw at the Stadium of Light.

But with his current contract with Preston set to expire this summer, and with no indication that he is set to sign an extension, Heckingbottom has conceded that the centre-forward - who has hit 10 goals in the Championship this term - looks destined for a departure.

Speaking in a press conference on Thursday, he said: “Yeah, as it stands now he'd be leaving. It's not up to me; it's up to Emil. It's up to any player who's out of contract. It's totally up to them what they want to do. I think he's our top league scorer now as well. Listen, he's done great.

“Obviously, I've seen so much happen before working with him as well.... He's done so many good things here. So many good things. But every player is well within their rights, just as every club is. When contracts are up, you can't have anyone's hand behind their back.

“We don’t want any players here who don't want to be here. And likewise, players don't want to play for a club who don't want them - simple. So, yeah, when contracts are up they should just be honoured and everyone should be relaxed about it. There should be no hard feeling against players who want to leave. And likewise, if clubs don't want to renew contracts, it's just an opportunity to change.”

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What else has been said about Emil Riis’ future at Preston North End?

Heckingbottom’s comments come in the wake of a similar claim from George Hodgson, the Preston North End reporter for The Echo’s sister title, the Lancashire Post.

Speaking during an interview with The Echo prior to Tuesday’s meeting between the Lilywhites and Sunderland, he explained: “I think the expectation is he [Riis] is going to be leaving. So we'll see what happens. It wasn't completely ruled out by the manager because I think Emil Riss has enjoyed playing with him and working under him.

“But yeah, the noises are that he fancies something new and won't be signing a new deal. So, I will be interested to see where he goes. Obviously, he’s an ambitious striker. He's shown he can score at this level. So I think there'll be a few suitors. Maybe Sunderland will be one of them if they're still in this league next season.

“I'm not sure he's ready for the Premier League, although he might be useful as one of four in your attack. Maybe he'll go abroad. In terms of actual concrete Sunderland interests, I'm not too sure. They might have had a look and had him on a list like Sheffield United did, I think. He was an option for them, and he signed Tom Cannon. So maybe something a little bit like that.”

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