Preston North End pushing for Andri Guðjohnsen loan agreement despite £2.5m claims | OneFootball

Preston North End are looking to try and bring in striker Andri Gudjohnsen on loan from Gent, following previous talk of a permanent deal.

Preston North End have enjoyed an impressive start to the 2025/26 campaign in both the Championship and the EFL Cup, and now Paul Heckingbottom is trying to tie up a loan move for Andri Guðjohnsen from Gent.

The Lilywhites started their campaign under a bit of a cloud with their collapse towards the end of last season, eventually avoiding relegation on the final day of the campaign, suggesting to many neutrals that they could struggle this season.

However, after beginning with a steady 1-1 draw at Loftus Road against Queens Park Rangers, North End scraped past League Two Barrow in the EFL Cup first round earlier in the week.

That was then followed by a 2-1 defeat of Leicester City, just relegated from the Premier League, thanks to a late Milutin Osmajic winner, putting them on four points after two matches.

PNE have had an exceptionally busy window, both in terms of incomings and outgoings, and it doesn’t appear as though that is going to stop just yet, with Heckingbottom and the club set for a busy final couple of weeks in the market.

One of those pieces of business appears to be tying up a temporary solution for a player they had previously reported wanted to move to Deepdale on a permanent basis, with Heckingbottom recently revealing that the club will be limited to freebies and loan deals for the rest of the transfer window.

Preston North End want to land loan move for Andri Guðjohnsen

According to Alan Nixon, via his Patreon, Preston North End are interested in signing Icelandic striker Andri Gudjohnsen on a loan deal from Belgian Jupiler Pro League outfit Gent.

Nixon has said that the club are trying to hammer out a loan move for Gudjohnsen, alongside their chase for Harrison Armstrong, who they want to sign on loan from Everton.

It had previously been reported by Nixon that Preston were keen on signing Gudjohnsen, the son of former Bolton Wanderers and Chelsea legend Eidur, on a permanent deal for a fee in the region of £2.5 million.

Andri, who began his youth career in Spain with Eidur’s former club Barcelona before moves to Gava, Espanyol and Real Madrid, joined Swedish side Norrkoping from Madrid in 2022.

After a loan stint at Lyngby, he made the move to Gent in the summer of 2024, scoring five goals in 46 matches across all competitions for the Belgians last season.

Internationally, after an impressive career in the youth setup, he has been capped on 34 occasions by the Icelandic national team, notching nine goals in those appearances.

Preston North End have had a busy summer so far - but they need more bodies

So far this summer, Preston have brought in a lot of new signings as Heckingbottom seeks to revamp his squad, with experienced first-teamers having departed, too.

Ryan Ledson and Patrick Bauer were among those to have departed at the end of their contracts, alongside Freddie Woodman and Emil Riis, with Layton Stewart and Jack Whatmough being sold on to Thun and Huddersfield Town, respectively.

In terms of incomings, Daniel Iversen, Jordan Thompson, Pol Valentin and Thierry Small were the first through the door on free transfers (compensation was paid to Charlton Athletic for Small), with Michael Smith and Andrija Vukcevic also arriving on frees.

Daniel Jebbison and Alfie Devine have signed on loan from AFC Bournemouth and Tottenham Hotspur respectively, whilst Jack Walton and Odeluga Offiah arriving on permanent, fee-paying deals. That is a lot of new faces, but they were only able to name eight substitutes against Leicester due to injuries, and one of those was 16-year-old scholar Michael Ayodele.

Injuries to Will Keane, Brad Potts, Jordan Thompson, Robbie Brady, Daniel Jebbison and Mads Frokjaer has left Heckingbottom short in depth in areas of the pitch, and that needs to be rectified before the end of the window.