Lewis Dobbin, a forward for Aston Villa, is a target for Preston North End on loan.
With North End reportedly in the running for the former Everton player, who spent the previous season on loan at Norwich City and West Bromwich Albion, the 22-year-old appears destined for another temporary departure from Villa Park.
Paul Heckingbottom has overseen a busy first full summer at the helm at Deepdale, with no fewer than 10 new arrivals through the door.
However, a full fee has only been paid for two of them, with Brighton & Hove Albion defender Odeluga Offiah and Luton Town goalkeeper Jack Walton arriving for undisclosed fees – Thierry Small meanwhile signed for a compensation package from Charlton Athletic.
Having already landed Daniel Jebbison and Alfie Devine on loan transfers this window, from AFC Bournemouth and Tottenham Hotspur respectively, Preston will hope to strike gold with another Premier League loanee in the shape of Dobbin, should they get the deal over the line.
Preston North End keen on Lewis Dobbin with Aston Villa exit expected
Despite only being 22, Stoke-on-Trent-born forward Dobbin has had an eventful career so far. Signed by Everton at the age of 11, he made his debut for the Toffees in 2021.
He was sent out on loan to Derby County, then in League One, for the 2022/23 season and featured heavily without setting the world alight in terms of numbers – scoring only five goals in 54 appearances at Pride Park.
After a season in which he got some minutes for Everton, including scoring in a home win over Chelsea, Dobbin left to join Aston Villa in a deal that also saw Tim Iroegbunam go the other way for the exact same price, with the general consensus being that those moves were made to ensure that both Everton and Villa didn’t breach the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability Rules.
He was sent out on loan to West Brom for the first half of last season but was recalled by Villa after only making 18 appearances and scoring no goals.
The second half of last campaign saw him re-routed to Norwich, but the winger had an injury-disrupted time at Carrow Road. Despite that, he still scored twice in only 11 appearances in Norfolk, with that spell earning him positive reviews from then-City manager Johannes Hoff Thorup, who hinted that he’d love to bring him back in the summer, before he was sacked.
Preston North End also keen on Andri Gudjohnsen transfer deal
Despite the links to Dobbin, Preston – who lined up with a front two in their opening day draw at Queens Park Rangers – actually have a pretty decent strike partnership at this level, consisting of Milutin Osmajic and Michael Smith.
Furthermore, North End are locked in a transfer battle with Dutch outfit FC Utrecht for KAA Gent striker Andri Guðjohnsen (son of ex-Chelsea striker Eidur) with the Lilywhites having held ‘personal talks’ although it appears that the Dutch side are slightly ahead in terms of the transfer tug-of-war, as per Sacha Tavolieri.
Jebbison is going to be out for a short period though, after an injury suffered with a personal trainer that Heckingbottom made his thoughts very clear about, whilst they also lost Emil Riis to Bristol City this summer.
In order to strengthen Heckingbottom’s assault even more, a move for Dobbin would be a wise one. Heckingbottom will be hoping for a more relaxed and peaceful campaign than the relegation struggle they were involved in the previous season.
