Preston North End urged to avoid Crystal Palace transfer agreement | OneFootball

Our Preston fan pundit wants to see the club target more players for the future rather than 32-year-old Schlupp

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's transfer priorities have been questioned after recent reports linked the club with transfer interest in versatile Crystal Palace man Jeffrey Schlupp.

North End are chasing new defensive additions this month, as boss Paul Heckingbottom aims to shore up his backline in order to take his side up the Championship table in the second-half of the season.

The Lilywhites have already won the race for Plymouth Argyle centre-back Lewis Gibson, after he joined for a reported fee of £1.5 million last week, and have now recently been reported as one of the second-tier clubs that holds an interest in Schlupp's signature.

The Lancashire Telegraph's report states that Preston, alongside Blackburn Rovers, other Championship clubs and teams in Major League Soccer and Holland, are all interested in a deal for the 32-year-old, with the Eagles likely to allow him to leave in the January window, as he is out of contract at the end of this season.

Preston fan pundit questions Jeffrey Schlupp January interest

Schlupp has been with Palace since a £12m move from Leicester City in January 2017, and is a versatile player that can be deployed anywhere down the left side, as well as in central midfield.

The ex-Ghana international has been a regular over the last few seasons at Selhurst Park, but has seen his game-time limited somewhat this term under Oliver Glasner, with just 14 substitute appearances to his name so far.

Those lack of minutes have seemingly contributed to rumours that he could leave the club this month and possibly make the step back down to the second-tier, but FLW's Preston fan pundit, Darren Watson, is unsure if the deal would be the right one for the Lilywhites to make, and thinks that Paul Heckingbottom should instead be targeting younger players for the future.

“He’s obviously a very experienced player is Jeffrey Schlupp, and also we have got some competition for his signature if he is to come to Deepdale,” Darren told FLW.

“I personally believe, with his age, that Preston are looking wrongly in this sort of direction.

“We should be looking at signing some younger players, some hungry talent that will be at the club for some time.

“We need to build a team that we can go and challenge for promotion with.

“Although he obviously has talent and experience, I think we need to look at finding a player that is younger, and one that wants to stay at Deepdale on a proper contract, not just a loan deal.

“Hopefully we can get the right player in through the door, and like I’ve said many times before, we still need a keeper, and I also think we need a striker as well.”

Paul Heckingbottom knows Preston need to bring in a left-wing-back this month

North End have experienced a tough season so far, which is little surprise given that the club went through a turbulent first few weeks of the season with Ryan Lowe's shock departure after the opening game against Sheffield United.

Heckingbottom has managed to steady the ship in recent weeks though, and the Lilywhites have lost just twice in their last 11 league games, but need to focus on conceding less in key moments, and scoring a few more at the other end, to boost their chances of a top-half finish this term.

The Preston boss has mainly deployed Aston Villa loanee Kaine Kesler-Hayden at left-wing-back so far this season, rather than in his natural position on the right side, with Robbie Brady often injured or out-of-form.

Heckingbottom has spoken of his desire to see Kesler-Hayden play more often in his natural position, which would mean bringing in a player that can play on the left, such as Schlupp, this month.

"You can see we have been stretched a lot. Both wing-backs... Kaine has played most of his games on the left and I still would love to see him on the right more, when the game needs it," he told the Lancashire Post last week.

“You see when he gets in behind; today he put a great ball in with his left foot but I know he has got more quality in his right foot. So yeah, lots of things to help us improve in the last few months.”

Whether Schlupp is the answer to that conundrum remains to be seen, but his pedigree would certainly stand PNE in good stead going forward this season, yet they are set to face tough competition for his signature this month.