Preston North End: Paul Heckingbottom addresses potential Leeds United transfer deal | OneFootball

The Lilywhites boss has been discussing the possibility of a permanent deal being struck for Leeds loanee Sam Greenwood.

Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom has not ruled out a permanent deal for Leeds United loanee Sam Greenwood, but recognises that there are a number of complexities that would need to be ironed out before any transfer could take place.

The Lilywhites completed the season-long loan signing of Greenwood in July, whilst the club were still under the management of Ryan Lowe. The deal is understood to include an option for North End to trigger a permanent move, but with an added caveat that is could become complicated if Leeds were to secure promotion this season.

As such, with the manager who signed him gone after mere weeks of his arrival, there was obvious cause for concern regarding whether any of Lowe's signings, not just Greenwood, would be players that Heckingbottom was happy to inherit.

However, the versatile forward has become a real key player for North End so far this season, and as a result, chatter is growing surrounding the potential for PNE to turn his temporary switch to Deepdale into a permanent one in the near future.

Paul Heckingbottom issues admission over Sam Greenwood's Preston North End future

Those murmurings have evidently been heard by the North End boss too, and he hasn't moved to silence them either, which will only further fuel the fire of speculation.

Speaking to the Lancashire Post in the aftermath of Preston's 0-0 away draw at Stoke City, Heckingbottom said: "Listen, I like Sam (Greenwood).

"When you talk about options and clauses in contracts, there's all sorts - it is not as simple as that. But, if I am just looking at Sam - a young player, the attributes he has then yeah, I like working with him and I think there is more to come.

“But, he loves football, loves training and playing. He wants to play and there is a desire there to work and improve. And, he's also got a really good work ethic in terms of that role within a team. So yeah, we've been pleased with him."

Leeds United are likely ready to let Sam Greenwood go permanently, which could benefit Preston North End

Comfortable operating as a centre-forward, on the flanks or in-behind the striker, Greenwood is a player that Heckingbottom can mold into whatever he wants from him.

At 22, he's also still very much a young player, but is one that has already played 25 times in the Premier League, and banked a full season on loan in the Championship last season with Middlesbrough.

It was that move to the Riverside which indicated that Leeds are potentially ready to sell the former England youth international.

The deal which saw took him to Teesside was a season-long loan deal, with Michael Carrick's side having the option to sign him permanently for a reported fee of £1.5m.

Preston have that same option in their deal with Greenwood and Leeds, and although the potential fee that the Lilywhites have agreed with the Whites hasn't been confirmed, it's safe to assume it's in that same ballpark.

With the Lilywhites operating on one of the more modest transfer budgets in the Championship, Heckingbottom will be constantly looking for shrewd deals and bargain buys where he can get them, and Greenwood certainly looks to have the potential to be a really strong investment for the future.

He's already registered his best individual scoring season of his senior career this season, with positive signs that the young forward is a player who's only going to continue to improve.

Heckingbottom's system evidently appears to be one that suits him and extracts the best performances out of him, and surely then, if he is to have no long-term future at Elland Road, Deepdale would be a place he'd be happy to call home under the North End boss.