Exclusive: Preston North End join Blackburn & Hull in race to sign Wrexham player | OneFootball

Out of favour Ryan Hardie is wanted at Deepdale as Paul Heckingbottom looks to add a new striker to his ranks

Preston North End have joined the race for out of favour Wrexham striker Ryan Hardie, Football League World has been exclusively informed.

The 28-year-old has found game-time difficult to come by under Phil Parkinson since his summer move from relegated Plymouth Argyle, after his £700,000 release clause was triggered to take him away from Home Park and League One.

PNE - who currently occupy third position in the Championship table - could now look to rescue the Scotsman from his North Wales nightmare - but they’re not the only second tier outfit that are eyeing Hardie up.

Preston North End enter transfer battle for Wrexham striker Ryan Hardie

FLW understands that Paul Heckingbottom and his recruitment team have Hardie firmly on their radar ahead of the January transfer window opening in just a couple of weeks time.

Heckingbottom wanted to sign an extra striker in the summer window on top of Michael Smith and Daniel Jebbison, with Aston Villa loanee Lewis Dobbin also playing in that role in a 3-5-2 formation to good effect, but he was not able to do so, with the remainder of the budget going on Everton midfielder Harrison Armstrong on loan.

Jebbison and Dobbin have been in good form for PNE, netting five goals each in all competitions, yet they have been left short with the nine-game ban for Milutin Osmajic (who will return on December 29 against Wrexham), especially with Heckingbottom's reluctance to use a fit-again Will Keane after his long lay-off.

With a full 25-man squad as it stands though, with Robbie Brady still to return from a long-term injury as well, North End may need to offload some players first when 2026 begins to start some incoming movement.

And if there is money to spend, North End will be targeting a swoop for Hardie and his proven Championship goalscoring record, but they aren't alone in that chase.

FLW exclusively revealed earlier in December that both Blackburn Rovers and Hull City also have Hardie on their radar as they look to bolster their own attacking units when the mid-season window comes about - although the Tigers have prolific forwards already in the form of Joe Gelhardt and Oli McBurnie, who have found the back of the net 18 times in the Championship combined.

Ryan Hardie's Wrexham AFC struggles are evident

Having spent five-and-a-half years with Plymouth, Hardie moved on to pastures new in the summer when they dropped back into League One for a bargain six-figure sum, having already proven himself in the second tier of English football.

He had netted 22 times across two seasons for the Pilgrims, leading to Wrexham's move for the attacker, but Hardie has found it incredibly difficult to secure game-time at the STōK Racecourse.

Wrexham also signed Kieffer Moore, Josh Windass and Nathan Broadhead in the summer window with their hefty transfer budget, and it is that trio that has been preferred by Phil Parkinson, with even Sam Smith ahead of Hardie in the pecking order too with his 17 Championship appearances - all-but one being from the bench.

In contrast, Hardie has appeared just five times in the league, with two of those being starts all the way back in August and September, but he has managed just two cameos since October 22 and is more often an unused substitute, which has happened 10 times this season alone.

PNE know all about what Hardie can do, having scored a fantastic goal against them in an EFL Cup round one win in August at Deepdale, and they are one of a number of clubs now looking to give the Scottish striker a platform for the second half of the season.