Preston North End

Preston are among a clutch of clubs keen on 22-year-old Oxford United winger Stanley Mills (Pete O'Rourke, external)

Want more news from the EFL? Take a look at Thursday's gossip column here.

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England's progress to the World Cup semi-final has resulted in Preston North End postponing a pre-season friendly.

The Championship club were due to visit Chorley on Wednesday, 15 July, but the match has been called off as England will face Argentina on the same evening.

Preston will start their pre-season schedule away at Bamber Bridge on Tuesday, 14 July (19:00 BST), with the club having no friendlies scheduled for their Deepdale stadium while pitch improvement work is carried out.

The upgrade has also meant their Carabao Cup first-round tie at home to Huddersfield on 1 August has been moved to Everton Women's Goodison Park.

The Lilywhites will start the new Championship campaign away at Bolton Wanderers on Saturday, 15 August (12:30 BST).

Preston North End have made an ambitious attempt to sign the versatile Northern Ireland international Justin Devenny from Crystal Palace, though the 22-year-old is also admired by Leicester City and Southampton. (Lancashire Post), external

Wolves have reportedly identified Aston Villa attacker Lewis Dobbin, 23, as a potential summer transfer target, with Middlesbrough and Southampton also linked with the English former Preston loanee. (Lancashire Post), external

For more transfer news and rumours, read Thursday's full gossip column here.

Record signing Alfie Devine is a benchmark of what Preston North End's ambitions are, according to the club's former goalkeeper Alan Kelly.

The midfielder has signed a five-year contract after moving from Tottenham to Deepdale having been on loan last season, scoring eight goals in 45 Championship appearances.

The fee is undisclosed but the club have said it is "almost three times" what they paid for Portsmouth forward Callum Lang in February, which was reported to be around £2m.

"He's someone all Preston fans were looking to see back and for the club to pay a reported £6m, everyone will be delighted with that," said Kelly, who now works as a summariser for BBC Radio Lancashire.

"There were a lot of teams after him because of his quality, so to go out and get him, it sets a benchmark and what they're prepared to spend."

Preston were third in the Championship table in mid-December before going on to finish 14th and Kelly believes they and Devine will be targeting a big improvement next season.

"Alfie Devine is someone the team can be built around and I think he warrants that sort of money and could be worth even more moving forward so it's a win all round for the player, club and the fans," he said

"He'll have the drive of having been at a Premier League club like Spurs and will want to take Preston there - he'll have aspirations and dreams and signing for the club means he's been told they can come to fruition."

You can listen to more Preston North End interviews and features on BBC Sounds.

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Preston North End's Carabao Cup first round tie at home to Huddersfield Town has been moved to Goodison Park.

Deepdale is having a new hybrid pitch installed which the club say will be ready in time for their first home Championship game against Wolves on Saturday, 22 August.

The cup tie kicks off at 15:00 BST on Saturday, 8 August, the week before the new league season starts.

"To ensure no issues after a significant £1.5m-plus investment, the decision was made to ask permission to play away from PR1 in round one," Preston said in a statement., external

Goodison Park was the home of Everton up until the start of the 2025-26 season when they moved to their new Hill Dickinson Stadium with the Toffees' women's team taking up sole residency.

Mansfield Town are struggling to reach agreement with Preston North End striker Michael Smith over his proposed move to the League One club. (Alan Nixon - Patreon), external

You can find more of Monday's EFL transfer gossip here.

The EFL fixture list is out and we know you are bursting to know what you've got to look forward to - or dread - from your team this upcoming season.

Here are some key dates to put in your diary:

• 15 August 2026 - Bolton Wanderers (A)

• 22 August 2026 - Wolves (H)

• 5 September 2026 - Blackburn Rovers (H)

• 5 December 2026 - Burnley (A)

• 26 December 2026 - Derby County (H)

• 1 January 2027 - Middlesbrough (A)

• 6 March 2027 - Bolton Wanderers (H)

• 16 March 2027 - Burnley (H)

• 10 April 2027 - Blackburn Rovers (A)

• 1 May 2027 - Cardiff City (H)

See Preston North End's full fixture list here.

Goalkeeper Lee Nicholls could be heading for the exit at Huddersfield Town with Preston North End keen to take the 33-year-old to Deepdale. Nicholls still has two years left on his contract with the Terriers where he kept 10 clean sheets in 40 appearances last season. (Alan Nixon - Patreon), external

Want more transfer news from the EFL? Take a look at - gossip column here.

The EFL will reveal its fixture list for the 2026-27 season on Thursday.

Want to know who your team will face on opening day? The fixtures will be announced at 12:00 BST - but that is not all.

The draws for the group stage of the Vertu Trophy and the first round of the Carabao Cup will also take place.

So check back on 25 June to see who your team faces first, last and everything in between.

Portsmouth, Preston North End and QPR have all been linked with a move for Swansea City's 26-year-old English right-back Josh Key. (Football League World), external

For more transfer news and rumours, read Friday's full gossip column here.

Preston North End are among the clubs interested in signing Plymouth Argyle striker Lorent Tolaj after the 24-year-old Swiss scored 18 goals for the Pilgrims in League One last season. (Lancashire Evening Post), external

For more transfer news and rumours, read Thursday's full gossip column here.

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Goalkeeper Jack Walton has joined Dundee United on a three-year deal, returning to the club a year after his loan spell ended.

Walton, 28, was previously loaned to United by Luton Town from 2023 to 2025 and then joined Preston North End.

The Englishman made 85 appearances for the Tannadice club, who were in the Championship for the first of his two seasons and in the Premiership for the latter.

"Jack was exceptional for us across the two seasons he was here and bringing him back to the football club was something we were extremely keen to make happen," manager Jim Goodwin told United's website.

"His performances, consistency and leadership qualities made him one of the standout goalkeepers in the country during his time here previously."

And Walton said: "I'm absolutely delighted to be back. Dundee United is a club that means a lot to me and from the moment I left, I always hoped there would be an opportunity to return one day.

"As soon as I became aware of the opportunity to come back, it was something I really wanted to make happen."

"It won't be long before the transfer window opens. There's a lot of intrigue around the club at the moment.

"Everyone's cautiously excited about a potential takeover. There's jeopardy with any potential new owner, but I think there's jeopardy remaining where we are - I was ready for the season ending in March, it was really disappointing how the season tailed off."

BBC Radio Lancashire sports editor Andy Bayes is joined by George Hodgson of the Lancashire Post and Lilywhites superfan John Roper to look back at North End's 2025-26 campaign and what the future has in store at Deepdale.