When the new season begins, Preston North End will be looking to improve on their 10th-place Championship result from 2023–2024.

Securing a robust transfer window is essential to this, as both inbound and outbound players are vital in making sure they don’t fall behind their Championship opponents.

Thus far, the Lancashire team has signed Leeds United’s Sam Greenwood and Silkeborg IF’s Stefán Teitur Thórdarson. In the meanwhile, departures have been few and far between; the only notable one to date has been Alan Browne’s decision to sign for Regis Le Bris’ Sunderland after turning down a contract at Deepdale.

This means that deals both ways are still likely and PNE will be aiming to sort these before their season begins against Sheffield United on August 9 at Deepdale.

FLW takes a look therefore at two deals that will likely be completed for North End by the time their fixture against the Blades arrives.

A player who would be a superb addition before August the 9th is Ilay Camara. The 21-year-old is a right-wing back who plays for Belgian side RWD Molenbeek, and was linked with North End last month, as per the Lancashire Evening Post.

Signed from Anderlecht last summer, the youngster played 31 games for RWDM in the top flight of Belgian football, where he managed an impressive three goals and seven assists across the campaign.

This sort of return would prove useful for Lowe, who will be looking for a much better attacking outlet from his right-sided wing-back, with Brad Potts managing just three goal contributions last term – he is also versatile and is capable of playing on the left too.

It would likely not be a cheap deal, but based on his exploits at a competitive level, Camara could provide value for money and a potential asset for the future too.

However, they are not alone in their attempts to sign Camara, with Coventry City and Burnley both keen, as well as French side Stade de Reims – Standard Liege also want to sign the wing-back, but currently, Molenbeek are blocking the move.

Time will tell then, as to whether they can secure his signature, but Lowe will surely be keen to have Camara in his starting line-up against Sheffield United next month, especially with other transfer target Harrison Burrows looking likely to head to the Blades.

Patrick Bauer

The transaction that PNE will undoubtedly want to finalise before August 9th involves Patrick Bauer moving to a different team.

Bauer joined the Lilywhites in the summer of 2019 after leaving Charlton Athletic, and he quickly established himself as a major contributor.

But due to injury problems—including a torn achilles sustained in 2020—and a lack of preference, the German has fallen down Lowe’s defensive pecking order, appearing in just 10 games over the past two seasons.

Due to all of this, Lowe has declared that he has no intentions for the defender moving forward, allowing him to look for a new opportunity.

With a year left on his contract and injury issues apparent, they will surely receive a minimal fee for the defender. But, the club will understand that the sooner they can get rid of him, the more wages will be freed up to sign new players.

For this reason, they should be targeting a departure for Bauer before August 9, to give them sufficient time to search for new targets.

Having struggled for game time, the former Charlton Athletic man will surely be keen on a move away as he looks to discover some of the form that earned him the move to Deepdale, although he is likely to be settled in the north west of England with his young family, having been in the area for over five years now, which could make finding the right club a bit more difficult.

Time will tell regarding his departure from Deepdale, but it feels like this is a deal that must be completed for both parties.