Preston North End: Ryan Kent deal should be a long way from Paul Heckingbottom's transfer priority | OneFootball

North End have been linked with free agent winger Ryan Kent in recent days, but signing him shouldn't be top of Heckingbottom's transfer priorities.

Preston North End are reported to be interested in signing free agent winger Ryan Kent, after he was released from his contract with José Mourinho's Turkish Süper Lig side Fenerbahçe in October.

That's according to Alan Nixon via his Patreon account, who states that North End boss Paul Heckingbottom is keen to reunite with the wideman, having worked with him during his time at Barnsley in the 2016/17 season.

Nixon reports that the 28-year-old is fielding interest from within English football, and abroad, as the former Rangers man looks to make the right decision at a crucial point in his career.

However, despite Kent being a free agent, because he was released after the summer transfer window closed in England, he will have to wait until January before he can be registered with a new club.

So, although Kent's addition would have the potential to be a shrewd move by Heckingbottom, signing him shouldn't be near the top of his transfer priorities at Deepdale - for more than one reason.

Ryan Kent wouldn't appear to fit into Paul Heckingbottom's current PNE tactics

Whilst Heckingbottom has at times deployed a back four this season since his appointment, the Preston boss has tended to favour a 3-5-2 approach during his time at Deepdale so far - almost exclusively since the Lilywhites were downed 3-1 by Millwall in late September.

That's seen him go with a back three, flanked by wing-backs on either side. Crucially, as far as signing Kent is concerned, that means wingers aren't much of a factor right now in Heckingbottom's system, and that's pretty much solely what the Englishman is.

As per Transfermarkt, he operated as a left-winger in 189 of his 218 appearances for Rangers, whilst 12 of his 19 outings for Fenerbahçe also came from the left, with the other seven being from the right.

It could be argued though that Heckingbottom is only utilising a wing-back system right now because he isn't content with the wide options he has at his disposal further forward.

The only out-and-out wingers at Deepdale right now are Jeppe Okkels and Josh Bowler - the latter was Heckingbottom's only signing following his August appointment, and he has only appeared five times in the Championship so far, with two of those being starts in a rather underwhelming loan stint from Nottingham Forest.

The curious case of Okkels has continued though, having arrived in August as a signing lined up by previous manager Ryan Lowe before his shock exit after just one match this season.

North End spent £1.7 million on the Utrecht winger after he barely featured for the Dutch outfit in the second half of last season following his move from Elfsborg, and an even bigger surprise was that Lowe was after a winger in the first place, given his continuous lack of use of the position during his time in charge.

The deal to sign the Danish attacker was completed without a permanent manager in charge, and he has since only appeared six times in the league, with just one of those being from the start - a 45-minute appearance against Middlesbrough in which he was brought off at half-time.

Heckingbottom may see Kent as a better option for the flanks, and if signed, that could see North End abandon the wing-backs and turn back to a back four, which has been trialled but not really consistently used under the Yorkshireman.

Preston North End should be prioritising defensive reinforcements in January

Not to say that Kent would be a bad signing for PNE, nor that it shouldn't be a deal that Heckingbottom explores, but combined with tactical question marks, there are surely other areas of the pitch that the North End boss will want to strengthen first in January.

The Lilywhites sit 20th in the Championship after 15 games, and whilst scoring goals has been an issue, preventing other teams from scoring against them has proven an even tougher challenge so far.

Preston have scored 15 goals so far this season, which despite not being as many as they would've hoped for, that's four more than 11th-placed Swansea's tally of 11, one fewer than West Brom's 16, and just four short of Sheffield United's 19 respectively.

Their defensive shortcomings have really come to the fore in their recent Championship fixtures, having conceded three goals in their last three league games against Portsmouth, Bristol City and Plymouth Argyle respectively.

With injuries in his defence as well as too many goals being conceded, and a lack of a cutting edge in the striking department, adding to those areas of his squad in the new year will surely be at the top of Heckingbottom's shopping list.

There is a common theme with most of North End's centre-back options and their longevity, with both Jordan Storey and Andrew Hughes signing in 2018, and Liam Lindsay arriving in 2021, as well as Patrick Bauer joining in 2019, there are a lot of years at Deepdale put together.

The only current central defender who has arrived since 2023 is Jack Whatmough, who has been somewhat of a bit-part figure under Heckingbottom, but the current record at the back only strengthens the argument for some fresh faces to be prioritised in the back line.

North End are probably lacking some pace and agility to keep the quicker Championship attackers at bay, and instead of signing a mercurial attacking talent like Kent, there will be an urge from supporters to look at freshening up an aging defensive unit, or else the club could be in trouble at the bottom end of the table come the end of 2024-25.