Preston North End: Milutin Osmajic branded an 'utter embarrassment' - club told to 'rip up his contract' | OneFootball

Preston North End have been backed to offload Milutin Osmajic after he headbutted Hull City star John Lundstram.

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Preston North End striker Milutin Osmajic was at the heart of controversy once again when he was sent off for headbutting Hull City midfielder John Lundstram on Tuesday.

North End were comprehensively defeated 3-0 by the Tigers at Deepdale, thanks to goals from Liam Millar, Akin Famewo, and Oli McBurnie, while Osmajic's actions in the dying seconds of the game sparked a brawl, which also prompted Preston coach Peter Murphy and Hull goalkeeping coach Erbil Bozkurt to be dismissed.

The Lancashire outfit's home defeat to the Yorkshire club has dented their chances of beating top-six rivals such as Millwall to a play-off spot.

Paul Heckingbottom's side will now have to cope without Osmajic's services for their upcoming Championship clashes against Middlesbrough, Ipswich Town and Portsmouth, and some are reaching the end of the line with the Montenegrin.

Preston North End urged to part company with Milutin Osmajic after Hull City controversy

Osmajic is now set for a three-match suspension following his red card against Hull, while he had recently returned from a nine-game ban after being charged with racially abusing Burnley's Hannibal Mejbri.

The striker was previously banned for eight games for biting Owen Beck, then on loan at Blackburn Rovers.

With the 26-year-old's poor disciplinary record in mind, Football League World asked our North End fan pundit, Darren Watson, if Osmajic is now becoming too much of a liability.

Watson told FLW: "Last night's action at Deepdale was utterly embarrassing, obviously, not to mention the scoreline, and more focus on Milutin Osmajic.

"I think Preston North End need to get rid of Osmajic. That's really quite drastic and quite a strong thing to say, but we can't defend the lad anymore. The lad's got more matched banned than he has goals, and it's absolutely ridiculous.

"Biting Owen Beck, being charged for racially abusing Hannibal and now, clear as day, headbutting a player in front of the referee. We can't keep on defending a player like that.

"We base our football club on being a family football club. There is a reason why we are called 'The Gentry'. There's nothing 'Gentry' about that and nothing family-oriented about his actions.

"Personally, I just think it's an utter embarrassment, as well as the touchline incident where backroom staff are even fighting as well. If I was Paul Heckingbottom, Stuart McCall, I'd have a meeting with Peter Ridsdale and the owners as well and rip up Milutin Osmajic's contract and just get rid of him.

"We cannot simply defend a player like that anymore. Anybody who is trying to still defend him needs to give their heads a wobble, because that man is an utter liability."

Preston North End could struggle to offload Milutin Osmajic in the transfer market

As alluded to by Watson, it is within Preston's best interests to get rid of Osmajic, whose ill-discipline has become more of a talking point than his footballing ability.

North End could decide to terminate the striker's contract, but that could prove costly, as his current deal at Deepdale doesn't expire until the summer of 2027.

Therefore, the Lancashire side could instead look to cash in on their man before the January transfer window closes.

However, Preston may find it difficult to find a suitor for Osmajic, who has once again been handed a match ban owing to his poor behaviour - it's not likely to be a club in the UK that takes a chance on him, amid recent links to Celtic, so the Montenegro international may have to move abroad if PNE are done with him.