Everton reportedly put Tom Cannon deal on hold as PNE wait continues

Preston North End face a delay in the pursuit of Tom Cannon with Everton now seemingly putting the deal on hold.

The Tom Cannon rumours have to end at some point but this one is really dragging on and on.

You couldn’t blame PNE fans for thinking that a deal for Cannon to return to Deepdale was done last month.

Cannon was spotted at Deepdale as PNE beat Aberdeen 2-0 in a pre-season friendly on July 22nd.

That left supporters excited at the prospect of Cannon signing another loan deal with North End, but here we are on August 9th with no deal done.

They suggest that Cannon was due at North End today in order finalise a season-long loan return to Deepdale.

However, Everton have reneged on that agreement and have now put Cannon’s exit on hold.

Everton want to get new strikers in themselves before allowing Cannon to leave the club, no doubt frustrating North End.

The Toffees are close to signing Sporting striker Youssef Chermiti and may have expected the deal to have been done by now.

Chermiti is going through a medical today but until that deal is signed, sealed and delivered, it looks like Cannon won’t be coming back to PNE.

We can only hope that Chermiti’s move goes through without a late hitch and that Everton are then happy to let Cannon go.

North End can’t wait forever and having seemingly had a deal in place, this new delay will leave fans worried.

Other Championship clubs are interested in Cannon and all it takes is one big offer to come in and North End could lose out.

We just have to cross everything and hope that Cannon returns to North End for another year – or at least for a definitive resolution one way or another with just three weeks over the transfer window to go.

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The likes of Mads Frokjaer-Jensen, Will Keane and Jack Whatmough have all signed on at Deepdale, whilst Daniel Johnson and Josh Onomah have departed – and Calvin Ramsey’s loan move means that it’s been a successful summer.

But the Liverpudlian is vying for more – and Football League World takes a look at their upcoming transfer situation.

Tom Cannon conundrum

According to Alan Nixon, Preston’s move for last season’s breakthrough loanee Tom Cannon has been delayed as Everton want two new strikers through the door before they sanction a move for the youngster.

Cannon, 20, moved on loan to Preston in January last season and scored eight goals in just 20 Championship appearances, a superb tally for his first proper stint in professional football.

With Ellis Simms departing for Coventry, Dominic Calvert-Lewin having injury woes and Neal Maupay failing to impress on Merseyside, Cannon represents the next best option for an out-and-out striker at Goodison Park and even with a move for Youssef Chermiti imminent, the club are hoping to get another striker over the line before Cannon can be allowed to go out on loan to Deepdale.

There was supposedly a deadline of Wednesday to secure a move ahead of other clubs, and with Preston coming closest to meeting the £1million loan fee it would take to have Cannon on a temporary basis, they thought that would be a formality.

Everton are reportedly interested in PSG striker Hugo Ekitike, and if that deal alongside the Chermiti move can be done, that surely would allow Cannon to play in west Lancashire in the upcoming season.

Ryan Lowe is adamant that he wants his transfer dealings done before the deadline on August 31 in a bid to alleviate any fears of deals not getting over the line.

He said: “As long as we do our work, I am quite confident and the recruitment we’ve done since I’ve been here, I’d go as far to say it has been excellent.

“We’ve had to wait patiently and got the right players in. We haven’t just signed anyone and I am pleased with where we are so far. One or two more might potentially still move out which is fine, it’s not a personal thing.

“But for us to freshen it up and get what we want in, it’s been good and long may that continue. We’d like to get our business done earlier than before the end of the month. What I don’t want to do and haven’t done since I’ve been here is panic at the 12th hour – because there is no point then. It means you haven’t done your business cleverly. We are not going to do that, unless it was something that really popped up and we couldn’t turn it down.”

Sky Sports journalist Anthony Joseph has stated that Preston are battling Swansea for the chance to offer Cambuur left-back Alex Bangura the chance to play second-tier football.

Middlesbrough have been linked before, and their interest cooling has opened the door for the Lilywhites to potentially steal a move. It’s believed that the 24-year-old would be open to moving, with Cambuur having rejected an offer from Serie A newcomers Frosinone for his services.

With Alvaro Fernandez heading back to Manchester United after a loan spell last season, Bangura would be his replacement on the left-flank