Preston North End may have to offer Barnsley’silly money’ to tempt them to sell midfielder Adam Phillips this summer.
That is the scenario that Lilywhites manager Ryan Lowe faces after Tykes sports director Mladen Sormaz stated in May that the League One club had no plans to trade any of their best players during the current transfer season.
The Lancashire Evening Post reported on Friday that North End had inquired about Phillips’ availability as they seek to add midfield depth to their roster. They see him as someone who could readily improve their options in that area, with the 26-year-old’s great eye for goal being an appealing aspect of his game.
The Garstang-born former Burnley player scored 12 goals and six assists in the third division last season, but Barnsley’s promotion aspirations were dashed by Bolton in the play-off semi-finals. Phillips has a total of 17 league goals and assists the previous year after joining from Morecambe for an unknown amount in 2022. Those types of figures might be important at Deepdale next season, as Preston try to improve on their 10th-place finish last season. It would also assist to mitigate the potential loss of skipper Alan Browne, whose future is uncertain with his North End contract expiring on Sunday.
In fact, the Irishman had four goals and four assists in the Championship last season, and 2018-19 was the last time the 29-year-old scored in double figures.
However, Preston’s pursuit of Phillips will not be easy. And if it is to proceed, they have been told that Barnsley will demand a hard bargain.
Speaking after his team’s play-off loss to Bolton, Sormaz stated, ‘To be honest, we don’t want to sell anyone. Most of the time, someone needs to come in with a lot of money to get one of our best players to depart.
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