Preston North End can get over Emil Riis exit with Cardiff City transfer agreement | OneFootball

Preston North End can get themselves over the departure of Emil Riis by bringing Cardiff City forward Callum Robinson back to Deepdale.

Preston North End managed to stave off relegation on the final day of the last Championship season, and now Paul Heckingbottom will be seeking to build a squad that won’t get drawn into any issues down at the bottom end of the table.

The Lancastrians appeared home and hosed, firmly in the middle-of-the-table when they returned from the March international break, but a combination of a North End collapse and some remarkable form showed by teams down at the bottom, they got dragged into the mix on the final day.

They eventually stayed up with a 2-2 draw against Bristol City at Ashton Gate, in a game in which star striker Emil Riis notched his 12th league goal of the campaign, but their top scorer has now departed at the end of his contract, with Heckingbottom saying after the season had finished that the club hadn’t yet offered him a deal.

Riis was often unpredictable, but found an impressive groove at Deepdale as time went on, and the Dane will have to be replaced by an accomplished attacker.

One man that should be high on the list is their former player, Callum Robinson, who has just been relegated to League One with Cardiff City.

Preston North End can get over Emil Riis exit with Callum Robinson signing

It has been reported by the Irish Examiner that the Lilywhites are interested in re-signing Robinson, who signed a new deal at the Cardiff City Stadium in January that keeps him contracted to the Bluebirds until the summer of 2027.

However, such is his pedigree and quality, it would be an immense surprise to see the 30-year-old Republic of Ireland international plying his trade in the third-tier next season.

That will open the door for Preston, who are seeking to replace Riis’ goals and targeting a versatile goalscorer in Robinson, who was well-liked during his time at Deepdale previously, would appear an excellent choice.

In a woeful Cardiff side that finished rock-bottom of the Championship table last year, Robinson was something of a spark with 12 goals, as many as Riis at Preston, in 34 appearances.

The Aston Villa academy graduate, who had three loan stints at Preston before moving to them on a permanent basis in 2016, has enjoyed an impressive EFL career, and he would represent a good bit of business should he return to the northwest.

During his previous stint at Preston, he marked himself out as one of the more exciting players in the division, earning a move to the Premier League with Sheffield United for a fee reported to be £8 million.

As he moves into his 30's, Robinson’s nous and experience are likely to come more into play, as well as his obvious talent, and he should be one of the more sought-after player to have just been relegated down to League One.

Preston North End have had a busy summer so far - Callum Robinson could help to fix their striker issues

Under the management of Heckingbottom, Preston appear to be desperate to rectify what went wrong last season and the Lancastrians have already been busy in the summer transfer window.

Daniel Iversen joined the club on a free transfer from Leicester City initially, before the arrivals of Thierry Small, Jordan Thompson and Pol Valentin from Charlton Athletic, Stoke City and Sheffield Wednesday respectively, as well as Daniel Jebbison joining on loan from AFC Bournemouth.

What those moves represent, especially in the case of Thompson and Pol Valentin, is Heckingbottom and Preston’s desire to bring in Championship experience, whereby they may well perhaps know the limit of their capabilities, but they can also be certain of a base minimum standard.

Robinson is another player who falls into that category, with his limits clearly to still be one of the better attackers in the division but, even in a team that badly struggled last season, he still found the net with some consistency – and that makes him a shrewd bit of business if Preston can pick him up.