Preston North End and Bolton Wanderers transfer boost for League One star

Preston North End have received a potential boost for one of their reported summer transfer targets.

The Lilywhites will be preparing for another season in the Championship after their season fizzled out. North End had an outside chance of reaching the play-offs but their hopes were dashed with defeats against Norwich City and Southampton.

Attention now turns to the final two games against Leicester City and West Brom. PNE will finish in the top half of the table and under Ryan Lowe, they’ll be hoping to better their 13th and 12th-placed finishes.

A transfer meeting was planned for this week but following the defeat to QPR, it has been put on hold. It hasn’t stopped transfer rumours from spreading however and now there’s an update on one of their reported targets.

Football Insider claimed that North End along with Portsmouth and Bolton Wanderers were interested in Exeter City midfielder Reece Cole. One club however has seemingly pulled out of the race to sign the 26-year-old.

Our friends at The News say that Cole is not a target for Portsmouth. The League One winners are planning to start their transfer activity early now they know what division they’re in but they won’t be pursuing a move for Cole. 

Cole is under contract with the Grecians until 2025 and so any move will likely require a transfer fee. He has played 38 times this season and has notched up seven goals and three assists in 38 league matches.

News on Cole comes after earlier this week it was revealed what it might cost to sign Marc Leonard from Brighton & Hove Albion. Leonard has been consistently linked with a move to Preston among other clubs for the last two transfer windows. Football Insider say that the Seagulls will entertain an offer in the region of £300,000, but North End face competition from both Cardiff City and Plymouth Argyle.

Centre midfield could be an area that Preston look to focus on this summer. Alan Browne has yet to commit to a new contract in the saga that will take priority before and after the season concludes.