Preston North End will take envious Blackpool FC glances in 2025/26 | OneFootball

Preston North End continue to add to their list of impressive imports in this summer window - this time, at the expense of their fiercest rivals.

Preston North End continued to add to their impressive list of imports ahead of the new season last week, with the permanent signing of Brighton and Hove Albion’s Odel Offiah.

The Camden-born defender has joined the Lilywhites on a four-year deal and can operate as both a central defender and a right-back. His arrival at Deepdale is an appropriately timed one. Given the recent departure of Jack Whatmough to Huddersfield Town, he will now almost certainly provide some stiff competition to Preston’s first-team regulars.

The 22-year-old has already featured in a PNE shirt in the less-than two weeks since his arrival, playing the majority of the second half of the club’s recent tribute-laden friendly with Premier League champions Liverpool.

Preston fans will have liked what they saw in that match from Offiah, as well as from their other new arrivals. Less happy about his talents being on display in PR1 for the foreseeable, however, would have been any fans of Preston’s fiercest rivals – Blackpool FC.

Offiah was a Blackpool fan favourite on loan last season

Whilst Odel Offiah is a Brighton academy graduate, and they are the team that have received Preston’s money for his services, Offiah’s real breakout year came in 2024/25, and it was whilst wearing the colours of Blackpool in League One.

He signed for the Seasiders at the start of last season, having already dipped his toe into the waters with Brighton’s first team and spent time in Scotland during a loan spell with Hearts. Right after putting pen to paper at Bloomfield Road, he said: “As soon as I heard of the interest, I wanted to join, as this is a big club with a huge history and I want to be part of that.”

In total, he played 42 times for the Tangerines in his sole season with the club. He started 40 out of 40 matches that he played in League One, and two out of two in the FA Cup. In fact, since his full debut in a 2-1 win against Exeter City, Offiah only missed two matches in the League.

He quickly established himself as one of the first names on the team sheet under Steve Bruce, and Blackpool seemed to garner more positive results than negative ones when Offiah was in the team, as they eventually finished ninth in the league.

It’s clear to see just how much of an impact Offiah had on the Blackpool fans too. At the end of the season, following his return to parent club Brighton, the defender uploaded an emotional and thankful post on Instagram for his time in Tangerine.

The comments underneath from fans spoke for themselves, with one fan calling his departure from the club “heartbreak”. They then stated: “Good luck wherever you land, they’re lucky to have you”. In an ironic twist, where he has landed is right at the front door of Blackpool’s most heated rivals.

Offiah is ready for the Championship after impressing in League One

Offiah was a prospect for Brighton for a number of years. He made himself a regular player for their under-21 team during the 2021/22 season, and split his time between the first team and the youth setup in the following season before his two temporary stints away from the club.

His full debut for the Seagulls came as far back as January 2022 as they defeated West Brom in the FA Cup, when he was just 19 years old.

By January the next year, his experiences with the first team had taught him plenty, so he said on Brighton’s official website: “You learn a lot from the senior pros and then when you play for the under-21s, you try and put into practice what you’ve learned, and you feel a lot more confident.”

Clearly, the impression he left at Blackpool last season has added to that stock, to the point where not only are PNE putting their faith in the defender to offer him a four-year deal, but they’ve also parted with a reported seven-figure sum in order to do so.

Preston’s club record signing, as far as publicly available transfer fees go, is still Milutin Osmajic. The Montenegrin arrived from Cadiz two summers ago for a reported £2.13m. If North End have put down seven figures for Offiah, that amount could well have been exceeded.

Whether that’s true or not, it seems as though he is ready for the challenge ahead at Deepdale. Upon joining the club, he said: “I’m delighted to be here. I can’t wait to get started. It’s obviously a massive club and I just can’t wait to play in front of the fans and show what I’m capable of.

“Speaking to the gaffer here about where he sees me playing and the role I have in the team, I think we saw eye to eye in terms of how I want to develop as a footballer. This is definitely the right place for me.”

PNE’s official website also included a quote from manager Paul Heckingbottom. “He’s a young lad who wants to work hard and keep progressing. He’s really shared our enthusiasm in the conversations we’ve had with him about how we see him fitting into the team.

“We kept a close eye on him last season and a number of clubs were after him, so I’m really pleased to have him with us.”

Some of those other clubs include the likes of QPR and newly-promoted Charlton Athletic, as was reported by Richard Cawley, and further speculated on by FLW. However, it’s Deepdale where Offiah will now call home, and clearly this is where he feels he can progress the most in his career at this stage. That attitude will serve him well under Heckingbottom.

Blackpool will be envious watching a former standout play for a fierce rival

One more team that would have reportedly loved to have secured the permanent signing of Offiah was Blackpool. According to the Blackpool Gazette, manager Bruce admitted that “he would’ve liked a return for the 22-year-old in the transfer window”.

However, Bruce also realised that it “would’ve been a tall order for the Seasiders to pursue a move for the defender after an outstanding campaign on the Fylde Coast”.

As well as hoping for an Offiah return to Bloomfield Road, Bruce has also previously said, again to the Blackpool Gazette: “He’s got an outstanding chance (at a big future in the game). He’s got all the attributes that a modern-day player requires. He’s big, strong, powerful, handles the ball very well. There’s been a few times when he goes on these mazy runs – I can see now why the fans like him. He’s done very well.”

It's very hard to find any Blackpool-based criticism of their former loanee prior to July 5th, be that from fans or those involved at the club, like the gaffer. However, now he’s made a home for himself at the other end of the M55, that may not be the case anymore.

Preston have impressed with their transfer window this summer, and based on the aforementioned Liverpool game, the likes of Thierry Small and Daniel Jebbison look like especially promising acquisitions, so say the LEP’s official match ratings.

If Offiah proves to be another strong arrival, PNE will have no problem improving on last season’s 20th-placed finish, much to the chagrin of their local rivals.