Preston North End dealt Birmingham City transfer blow involving Lyndon Dykes | OneFootball

Preston had been keen to sign Lyndon Dykes from Birmingham City, but the striker is looking to move to Scotland and link up with Hibs.

Preston North End were interested in signing Lyndon Dykes from Birmingham City, but the Scottish striker is keen to move to Hibernian in a move that will take him to the Scottish Premiership.

Paul Heckingbottom had been keen on adding a striker to his Preston squad ahead of tonight's 7pm transfer deadline, but has ultimately failed to bolster his options.

Dykes had emerged as a late option for Preston, who had earlier in the day been linked with a move for Tom Cannon - a deal that would've been popular at Deepdale given his previous stint at the club.

As it is, neither has joined Preston after the 7pm deadline passed, with Dykes still expected to be on the move out of Birmingham to link up with Hibs.

Lyndon Dykes rejects Preston North End move

In a report by BBC Sport Scotland, they confirm that Dykes had the option to sign for Preston before tonight's 7pm deadline.

However, it appears that his preferred exit route out of Birmingham this summer is into Scotland, with Dykes looking to link up with David Gray's Hibs on loan and head back to Scotland. He's made 28 appearances in the Scottish Premiership before, scoring 11 goals and registering eight assists for Livingston FC. The 29-year-old is also a 42-cap Scotland international.

Despite that, a deal between Birmingham and Hibs is not yet concluded.

The English transfer window closed at 7pm BST, but the Scottish window will remain open until 11pm, with Hibs likely looking to thrash out a deal with Birmingham for Dykes in the coming hours.

Dykes has scored one goal in four Championship appearances this season for Birmingham, with all of those outings coming from the bench and totalling 23 minutes. He scored a dramatic winner in Blues' 2-1 win over Blackburn Rovers.

Why this is a frustrating end to the window for Preston North End

Harrison Armstrong represents a really solid and impressive deadline day addition for Preston, but the club's failure to land a striker on deadline day is frustrating for Heckingbottom and the fans.

Links to Cannon (pictured above) at Sheffield United earlier in the day had excited the North End faithful, with many feeling they had not replaced Emil Riis, who walked away from Deepdale at the end of his contract earlier this summer and subsequently joined Bristol City.

The need for a striker has been clear, and although Dykes isn't the most convincing striker when it comes to regular goals in the Championship, he would've given Heckingbottom another physical option in the final third.

Preston have managed to retain Milutin Osmajic, who has three goals in three games so far this season, but he is to be supported by Will Keane and Michael Smith, who are both past-peak players, as well as the likes of loaness Daniel Jebbison and Lewis Dobbin.

Heckingbottom's side have seven points from four games and suffered their first defeat of the Championship season on Saturday against Portsmouth (1-0).