Man United & Liverpool players feature: 3 signings Preston North End need to be looking to make before September 1st | OneFootball

Most of Preston's transfers in so far this summer have been permanent ones, but there is plenty of potential for the club in the loan market

Preston North End’s busy transfer window has continued at pace this week, with the additions of veteran forward Michael Smith, and goalkeeper Jack Walton, who was a standout on loan at Dundee United in Scotland last season.

These are both permanent deals, to go along with Jordan Thompson, Daniel Iversen, Pol Valentin, Thierry Small, and Odel Offiah. It has come as a surprise to some fans just how many new arrivals have joined the club this summer that aren’t on loan.

Not every import has been a contracted one, though. Daniel Jebbison has signed on loan from Premier League club Bournemouth, and Preston can absolutely still make the most of the transfer window to make similar moves and bring some top division talent on a temporary basis to the club in 2025/26.

Here, we take a look at THREE potential targets PNE should consider...

Harry Amass

Preston seemed to solve their problem of having little depth in the full back department on the same day, when both Valentin and Small put pen to paper at Deepdale. Offiah can also play on the right side, but it would be wise for Paul Heckingbottom not to stop there.

Brad Potts, who has spent the last few years as North End’s starting right wing-back, and is also speculated to be a subject of interest to Huddersfield Town, according to Alan Nixon, could be absolved of playing out of his preferred position if PNE keep recruiting.

One player who could fill that role is Manchester United’s Harry Amass. The 18-year-old would not be the first left-back in recent years to join PNE on loan from United and go on to great things – just last week, Alvaro Carreras signed permanently for Real Madrid from Benfica, after coming through the Red Devils’ youth setup and making his senior debut for the Lilywhites.

Also, last week, BBC Sport reported that Amass is soon to be sent away from the United setup on loan. Ruben Amorim’s men have recently departed for Stockholm and then Chicago for their pre-season campaign, and neglected to take Amass with them.

Although the BBC have suggested that there is no imminent deal with a particular club, there has been speculation among fans on X, formerly Twitter, that Preston could be his preferred destination.

Amass has already made his presence felt in the United first team, making his senior debut as a substitute in a 3-0 victory over Leicester City in mid-March. He also played the full 90 minutes in later league games against Wolves, Brentford and West Ham United as a left midfielder, showing his versatility.

During the first half of last season, he was a prominent part of United's U21’s in Premier League 2, bagging two assists in 10 matches. He has also become a regular fixture on the international stage, playing seven times for England’s U18’s, including captaining his country once in a 1-0 victory over Portugal.

Consistent game time is perhaps the one thing missing from his CV at this time, and he could very well gain just that at Deepdale. If Potts were to leave or move back into midfield, Amass would absolutely give Small and an ageing Robbie Brady fierce competition on the left.

Chido Obi

Preston have made a habit of shopping at Old Trafford throughout the years, whether that be for loanees or permanent arrivals. Notable examples include the aforementioned Carreras, current striker Will Keane, and famous names like David Beckham, Danny Welbeck and Josh King.

Harry Amass may be the latest in that long line, but another current Carrington prospect who PNE may benefit from recruiting is Chido Obi. Standing at 6’2", the 17-year-old is an imposing presence in any forward line, and is proving himself a prolific goal-getter.

Preston’s lack of depth up front was a cause for serious concern among fans at the start of the summer, with the departures of loanee Sam Greenwood, top scorer Emil Riis and former Liverpool prospect Layton Stewart all coming one after the other very quickly.

Since then, they have papered over the cracks very well, bringing in Jebbison on loan and now Smith, to provide competition to the likes of Keane and Milutin Osmajic. Obi would be a more similar signing to Jebbison – a young player who wants to show the world, and his parent club, that he could make it at the top level.

There would be little room for Obi to continue to develop his skills in United’s first team, given the summer arrivals of Matheus Cunha and Bryan Mbuemo. If he is to make the most of his potential, then a loan move could be exactly what he needs right now.

With Keane and Smith both being the wrong side of 30 from a footballing perspective, young blood like Jebbison and Obi could be what Preston need not only to improve on last season’s poor 20th-placed finish, but maybe to push into the upper echelons of the Championship.

Rio Ngumoha

Moving away from Manchester to their fierce rivals in Red on Merseyside, one more youngster who the North End scouts could take a chance on is Liverpool’s Rio Ngumoha.

Having featured for Arne Slot’s men in their FA Cup campaign last time around, Ngumoha became the second-youngest player in the history of the club to make his full debut, starting in their 4-0 victory over Accrington Stanley in the third round at 16 years, four months and 13 days old.

He also became the youngest player to feature for the club since 2012, when Jerome Sinclair set a record that still stands today.

Last season, the tricky winger made a name for himself in the Liverpool ranks. He quickly graduated to the Reds’ U21’s in Premier League 2 after notching three assists in nine games for their U18’s during the first half of the campaign.

In the second half of it, he made eight appearances in the PL2 and scored twice in one of them, helping his team avoid defeat against Aston Villa. And all of that came after arguably the biggest moment of his career to date, when he made his debut against Accrington.

It has been a long time since Preston have used out-and-out wingers in their squad, having worked with a five-back since the days of Alex Neil. But PNE fans got to witness first-hand what Ngumoha is capable of at such a young age when he featured for Liverpool in the first half of their pre-season friendly at Deepdale.

He was a continued cause for concern for new man Valentin, almost broke the deadlock himself with a creative solo run and deflected strike at goal, and eventually had a hand in the opener when he laid the ball off to Federico Chiesa, whose square ball eventually found Conor Bradley to score.

Both PNE and Liverpool fans were impressed with his output, and if he were to do more of the same in Preston colours this season, it would be a positive for all parties.