Preston North End chief confirms transfer he expects to seal before Sunderland clash
Sunderland travel to Deepdale to face Preston in the EFL Cup on Tuesday night.
Preston North End director Peter Ridsdale has confirmed that Sunderland’s EFL Cup first round opponents still plan to announce their fourth signing of the summer on Monday, despite parting company with manager Ryan Lowe earlier in the day.
The 45-year-old left Deepdale by mutual consent following an opening day defeat to Sheffield United on Friday, meaning that the Lilywhites will head into their clash with the Black Cats on Tuesday evening under the guidance of caretaker boss Mike Marsh. Peter Murphy and Ched Evans will also help to form part of an interim coaching staff.
Following the news of Lowe’s exit, Ridsdale made an appearance on Sky Sports News to explain the reasoning behind the manager’s departure, but also took the opportunity to state that his club are pressing ahead with a move for an unnamed Danish talent - and that they should have it all wrapped up before Sunderland embark on their midweek trip to Lancashire.
While Ridsdale did not specify who the anticipated acquisition would be, Lancashire Evening Post reporter George Hodgson has since taken to social media to suggest that it is left winger Jeppe Okkels of FC Utrecht.
Addressing the probable arrival of the new signing, Ridsdale said: “It was an instant conversation because the player turned up about half an hour after Ryan had left this morning.
“The good news is he knows three of our players. He’s Danish, we’ve got a couple of Danish players in the squad, one player who is Icelandic but signed from Denmark recently. He knows them well, he spoke to them about the club.
“This is a club appointment, not one manager’s appointment. Although Ryan was obviously part and parcel of the decision-making process, it was the club scouts who identified him. It is a club signing, and he was just relieved that we still wanted to sign him. He’s here, he’s smiling, he’s doing a medical this afternoon, and hopefully we can announce his appointment later on today.”
In other Preston team news, the Lilywhites face a wait to see whether Ali McCann and Layton Stewart are fit enough to feature against Sunderland in some capacity on Tuesday. The pair were both absent from Friday’s defeat to Sheffield United, with the now-departed Lowe suggesting last week that both were working towards match fitness.
He said: “Ali is just getting up to speed now. He’s basically got a mini pre-season. He’s fine - he’s on the grass, kicking balls and he’s back out where he wants to be, instead of being in the gym. But he has now got a mini pre-season because he missed large parts of it. Layton is the same, he’s just got a bit of catching up to do, but not much.”
Preston’s only other injury concern ahead of Friday’s loss had been goalkeeper Freddie Woodman, but the stopper was ultimately deemed fit enough to start before making a costly blunder that led to Gustavo Hamer’s second-half strike for the visitors.