The winger Jeppe Okkels of FC Utrecht is reportedly getting close to joining Preston North End, according to sources in Scandinavia.
As per the Danish publication Midtjyllands Avis, Okkels is on his way out of Uterecht and his move to Deepdale is all but confirmed pending the completion of a medical exam. Should the relocation succeed, he would rejoin his erstwhile teammate at Silkeborg IF, Stefán Teitur Thórdarson, who relocated to Lancashire in July.
Although the 25-year-old has only been a member of Uterecht since January, his tenure there may be coming to an end. He has a one-year option to extend his contract, which runs until 2027, but a move to England currently appears to be in the works.
He featured against Venezia in their final game of pre-season before their season opener with PEC Zwolle this Sunday. In July, Okkels admitted that it was ‘difficult’ to arrive at the Stadion Galgenwaard mid-season, but had hoped to make a breakthrough in the Netherlands.
Okkels, who has a €3.00 million TransferMarkt valuation, is mostly a left-sided winger but can also play on the right side. He hasn’t started for Uterecht yet, but he has made five outings in competitive play and one assist in a 3-3 tie against AZ Alkmaar in mid-May.
The majority of his career has been spent in Sweden, having played a total of 118 times for Elfsborg. His time with the Allsvenskan outfit saw him register 29 goals and 16 assists. In his native Denmark where he began his career, he helped Silkeborg win the Danish second tier, and made 100 appearances for them with a combined 25 goal contributions split between 13 goals and 12 assists.
