Preston North End should be in the mix to sign creative Man City teenager this summer: Opinion | OneFootball

Preston North End are clearly not rushing when it comes to their summer signings, with just Calvin Ramsay added to Ryan Lowe's squad at this current moment.

Ramsay adds to a position that Lowe has been wanting to sort for the best part of 18 months, with Brad Potts having no real competition at right wing-back whilst the Liverpool man also gives North End's manager the option to switch to a back four if needed.

Attentions must now turn to the midfield area and in attack as well, where PNE are desperately short of bodies.

The squad that travelled to Spain for a pre-season training camp showed this as plenty of youth players made the journey, and they were the ones that ended up taking the plaudits in a 3-0 victory over Gibraltar outfit Bruno's Magpies.

The fact remains though that with Emil Riis and Ched Evans out until at least September, Lowe needs to sign strikers but he also needs to add creative midfielders due to the departures of Josh Onomah and long-serving Daniel Johnson.

With funds tight at Deepdale, North End are often users of the loan market where they try and take some talented Premier League youngsters, and they've already gone down that route with the arrival of Ramsay this summer.

One club they have had dealings with over the years is top flight champions Manchester City, with both Lukas Nmecha and Liam Delap playing for the Lilywhites, and North End should try and link up with the Citizens once again to bring creative talent Oscar Bobb to the club, who would cover not only the attacking midfield role but also would provide a striker option.

Who is Oscar Bobb?

The 19-year-old has been at City since 2019, having moved from his home nation of Norway to sign from Valerenga.

His first few years at City were spent mainly playing as a winger, with 11 goals scored in 24 outings for the under-18's in the 2020-21 season, and the following year a move up to the under-21's on a permanent basis came about due to being 18 and he scored eight times and assisted a further 12 goals in 34 matches.

2021-22 was a season where Bobb started to play a bit more as a striker, but 2022-23 saw the Norwegian undertake a different role as a more attack-minded midfielder in the middle of the park.

He played nine times as a striker and briefly out on the wing but 20 times as a central attacking midfielder, according to Transfermarkt, with eight goals scored and a mammoth 18 assists recorded by the youngster for City's under-21's.

Why should Preston North End pursue a deal for Oscar Bobb?

PNE need additions in all the areas that Bobb plays in, so it makes a lot of sense to try and give Bobb his first taste of senior football.

Not only does Lowe need to add a creative midfielder and multiple strikers, he has also been in for Rangers winger Scott Wright, which suggests that he is looking to be more tactically flexible going into the 2023-24 season.

Bobb has proven at under-21 level that he can score goals, he is creative and sets chances up for his team-mates and he also has pace in abundance, which is another thing the Lilywhites have been lacking.

There's a chance that clubs overseas could come in for Bobb this summer, but it would make a lot of sense for him to stay local in the North West to get a taste of English football.

Why should Oscar Bobb join Preston North End?

Even if clubs in European leagues come in for Bobb, North End have a lot of plus points.

They are pretty local to Manchester with their Euxton training base only 25 miles from the city centre and PNE's success with both Tom Cannon and Alvaro Fernandez on loan from Premier League clubs last season is testament to the chance that they give players who are in need of experience.