Ben Whiteman issues subtle Preston North End dig after £2.5m Wrexham transfer | OneFootball

Ben Whiteman's recent appearance on That Wrexham Podcast has caused a stir amongst Preston fans

Former Preston North End midfielder Ben Whiteman has admitted it was "refreshing" to be amongst teammates at Wrexham who have Premier League ambitions.

The 30-year-old's five-and-a-half year stint at Deepdale came to an end this past summer in quite controversial circumstances, which still leaves a sour taste in Preston fans' mouths.

Whiteman, who captained the Lilywhites in his final two years at the club, was said to have been forcing a move to North Wales by then-boss Paul Heckingbottom in early August and that he hoped Wrexham paid their valuation to allow him to leave.

North End ultimately accepted a reported £2.5 million mere days later, and Whiteman became the Red Dragons' new midfield anchor, starting all but one league game for his new club through the opening stages of the campaign.

Ben Whiteman opens up about joining Wrexham and makes comment which won't please Preston North End fans

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Whiteman recently appeared on 'That Wrexham Podcast,' a club show hosted by Ben Foster and Ben Tozer, two players who contributed massively to getting the Red Dragons out of the National League in 2023, kickstarting this rapid rise up the EFL.

Preston fans weren't best pleased with the manner of his departure a couple of months ago, but the 30-year-old admitted it was a difficult decision to make, leaving Deepdale.

"It was a really difficult decision," Whiteman said.

"Stuff got mentioned in the media, but that was never the case. I have a lot of respect for everyone at Preston North End.

"But it was a chance for me to come to a football club with massive ambitions, and wanting to get to the Premier League was the massive draw for me."

Ultimately, Wrexham are a hugely ambitious club with almost an expectation to kick on and push towards becoming a Premier League side for the first time after a record-highest-ever league finish last season.

However, Whiteman's comments about the level of ambition amongst the group could be taken the wrong way amongst those involved at Preston.

"It's really refreshing to come into a changing room with lads who want to get into the Premier League," Whiteman added, perhaps indicating that those at Deepdale don't have that drive and ambition to become top-flight players. As a former captain, that can be damning.

How Preston North End fans have reacted to Ben Whiteman's comments

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Regardless of how hard a decision Whiteman states it was to leave Preston for Wrexham, North End fans still feel disrespected by the way the transfer saga played out over the summer.

His comments, which could infer a lack of ambition at Deepdale, haven't gone down too well with some of the more vocal members of the fanbase online, either.

"Translated…”we are trying to buy our way into the Premier League, and I'm delighted to be on the journey until we get there, when I will be surplus to requirements. Oh, and did I mention I get paid a lot more now, which is why I really left," one Preston fan commented.

"You won’t be playing in the prem if they get there," another tweeted, while a third, on the same wavelength, added, "Can’t get to the Premier League when your midfield consists of Matty James, Ben Whiteman and Lewis O’Brien."

Even fans of other teams didn't like what Whiteman had to say about the lack of ambition at Preston. One Oxford fan commented, "Quite a bad way to speak about the team that he was with for over 5 seasons."

And with Wrexham sitting in the bottom half of the Championship after eight games, another Preston fan added, "closer to going back to League One than going up."

Ben Whiteman's comments could spur Preston North End on after the international break

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Ultimately, while possibly cynical, there's no doubting that Wrexham are better placed to get promoted sometime soon than Preston are.

The Lilywhites finished no higher than 10th in the five full seasons Whiteman spent at Deepdale, while the Red Dragons came within 90 minutes of finishing in the play-offs in their first season back in the second tier since the 1980s last season.

Preston have shown some ambition this summer, though, spending a record-breaking £15 million in the recent transfer window, smashing their £2 million ceiling numerous times for stars who could make them profit in the future.

That being said, though, the slide down the table in the latter half of last season bled into the start of this, and the Lilywhites find themselves in the bottom three with just four points and a new manager in the dugout in Graham Alexander.