Preston North End manager, Alex Neil, has fired a transfer warning amid Rangers’ reported interest in Daniel Johnson, as quoted by the Daily Record.
The Gers have been linked with a multi-million-pound move for the 27-year-old for some time [Daily Record], but Preston made it clear in September that no deal had been agreed, hinting the Gers would need to up their offer to land the player.
Johnson was left out of Preston’s squad for their Championship fixture against Brentford on Sunday, with the club’s official account citing an ongoing injury as the reason for his absence.
On the eve of transfer deadline day, the timing looked suspicious, but Neil has since suggested that it will take a special offer for one of his players to leave Deepdale in the final hours of the window.
“Not at this moment in time, but you can never say never in football,” said the Preston boss, as quoted by the Daily Record, when asked if anyone would leave. “What I do envisage is, if anybody does happen to leave then certainly we would need to replace, dependent on who it was. But at the moment, I think it’s a 99% chance that won’t happen.”
“Everybody at every club has got a price on their head – if someone comes up with big money and it’ll need to be big money, then obviously we’d need to replace.
“But I’ve got absolutely no appetite whatsoever to sell anyone.”
Preston boss Alex Neil fires transfer warning amid reported Rangers interest in Johnson – Verdict
Neil clearly wants to hold onto his star players and has played down the chances of a late departure here, but he hasn’t completely ruled out the possibility that someone could leave.
The door may still be ajar for Rangers if Johnson is their number one target on deadline day, although it looks like they’ll have to pay a sizeable fee upfront.
Given that the Gers landed a significant sum for qualifying for the Europa League group stages on Thursday night, they may be able to deliver.
Steven Gerrard has admitted his desire to land an all-action midfielder [Glasgow Live] and Johnson has played in a variety of roles for North End, although he excelled in a more advanced position across the 2019/20 campaign.
The Jamaican scored 12 goals and notched eight assists in 33 Championship outings but he is yet to appear in the league this season.
