Preston simply must beat Derby County to Chelsea transfer before 7pm on Monday | OneFootball

Preston North End are still yet to confirm any arrivals this summer, but could solve a big problem by stealing 8-goal striker away from rivals

Preston North End are yet to sign any new players in any capacity this January window, and a recent run of poor results has demonstrated the lack of depth in their forward line.

Paul Heckingbottom’s side started the new year in the perfect way, recording back-to-back clean sheet victories over Sheffield Wednesday and Bristol City. Since then, results have left plenty to be desired.

The Lilywhites have dropped out of the top six to ninth in the table following defeats to Derby County, Hull City and Middlesbrough. They’ve scored none and conceded eight during that run, showing a severe lack of quality in attack.

If they want to reignite their play-off hopes, they absolutely must scour the market this winter for a new striker.

Preston North End’s forward line has largely struggled this season

In the summer window, Paul Heckingbottom brought a whopping 12 players to Preston, including four on a temporary basis from Premier League clubs.

Two of those new arrivals to Deepdale were Bournemouth striker Daniel Jebbison on loan, and towering EFL veteran Michael Smith on a free transfer from financially compromised Sheffield Wednesday.

Whilst both players have opened their accounts for PNE in the six months since, neither has set the world on fire, with a total of 11 goal contributions from 50 Championship games between them.

The only other options Preston have had to deploy as strikers this season have been Will Keane - the Irishman was injured for the first few weeks of the campaign, and has departed Deepdale on loan this month for Reading in a move which will see out the rest of his current contract - and Milutin Osmajic.

The big Montenegrin has missed game time twice this season already due to suspensions. The first was for a nine-game stretch following allegations of racism towards Burnley’s Hannibal Mejbri last season as PNE overcame their Lancashire rivals 3-0 in the FA Cup Round of 16; the second, a three-match ban, is currently in effect after Osmajic blatantly headbutted an opponent in his side’s frustrating defeat to Hull two games ago.

All that is to say, PNE’s forward line, despite their status as play-off contenders for much of the first half of the season, has been less than reliable.

The brighter sparks for the Lilywhites going forward have been Premier League loanees Lewis Dobbin, from Aston Villa - the winger has 11 goal contributions from 23 games - and Alfie Devine, from Spurs - the attacking midfielder has bagged seven goal contributions in 28 games.

Given how in need the Lancashire side are for out-and-out forwards, and the successes of their other temporary Premier League imports, perhaps they can solve one problem with another.

Preston North End can usurp league rivals by pouncing for David Datro Fofana

In December, Heckingbottom publicly told the LEP that, in order to add to the current squad: “We need to move players to bring players in, or leave players out. And then I'm saying we have to have the funds and the money to do that, or we can't.”

With the departure of Keane on loan, as well as the sale of Stefan Thordarsson to 2. Bundesliga side Hannover 96, there is some room in the squad for a player like David Datro Fofana, from Chelsea.

The Ivorian has spent the first half of the season out on loan at Fatih Karagümrük in Türkiye, where he has shown his abilities and managed an impressive eight goals in 15 games for a side that are currently 18th in the Turkish Süper Lig.

Upon being recalled by his parent club, BBC Sport were quick to report that the main reason for such an action from the Blues was because they are ready to permanently sell the 23-year-old.

Interested parties include Celtic and Royal Antwerp, according to transfer guru Fabrizio Romano on X, as well as John Eustace’s Derby County, who are currently just one point and two places in the league table behind Preston.

PNE’s need for a striker is arguably more prominent now than it was during the dying embers of the summer window, when the club were first linked to Fofana by writer and transfer correspondent Pete O’Rourke on his X account.

With Fofana having already spent time on loan away from Stamford Bridge at Union Berlin in Germany, Burnley, and both Göztepe and Fatih Karagümrük in Türkiye, perhaps an initial six-month loan with an option to buy could be a move worth making for the Preston board.

Fofana could be a great permanent fit for Preston and help address depth problems

Whilst he was never quite able to establish himself in West London, his goal records during his temporary stints away from Chelsea are not inconsiderable.

Aside from his time at Union Berlin, he has been able to record over 0.5 goal contributions per 90 minutes played for every club he has turned out for on loan, according to FBref.

With Keane leaving and Jebbison unlikely to stay after his loan spell from the Cherries comes to an end, Preston will be left with just two forwards to their name come the end of the season, as it stands – one of whom will be 35 years old before the year is out, and another who will have missed at least 20 games in two seasons due to suspension.

The idea of bringing in a striker whose current club are keen to offload, which likely means his price tag would be negotiable, who has proven he knows where the net is; and who still has the majority of his career ahead of him, should appeal to the vast majority of Preston fans, as well as the club’s decision makers.

Plus, taking a player like Fofana from under the noses of a team just as hopeful for a play-off surge in the second half of the season as Preston, like the Rams, would make the deal seem a lot sweeter.