Preston North End have been linked with a move for Alex Bangura and SC Cambuur have now rejected a bid for the left back.
The transfer window is entering its final stretch and we’re still waiting for PNE to sign a new left wing back.
Alvaro Fernandez isn’t coming back from Manchester United whilst Robbie Brady, who signed a new deal this summer, is out injured.
Teenager Kian Best has been thrown into Championship action and whilst the potential is there, he needs some help.
Yasser Larouci and Josh Wilson-Esbrand were wanted but have headed elsewhere, leaving North End to go back to the drawing board.
One surprising name emerging two weeks ago was that of Cambuur star Alex Bangura.
Sky Sports reporter Anthony Joseph claimed that both PNE and Swansea City have been trying to sign Bangura.
Swansea have since raided the Dutch market for a different signing in Excelsior’s Nathan Tjoe-A-On, seemingly taking them out of the Bangura race.
PNE won’t have a clear run at Bangura though as Sky Sports now claim that Cambuur have rejected a £645,000 offer from French side Saint-Etienne for Bangura.
Saint-Etienne could lose former Everton man Niels Nkounkou and are seemingly eyeing up Bangura as a replacement.
If PNE do make a move for Bangura, he could face a decision over the second division of England or the second division of France.
Bangura is into the final year of his Cambuur contract but the Dutch side clearly aren’t willing to sell him on the cheap.
Can we really see PNE paying more than that price for Bangura? Probably not, especially if North End wrap up the loan signing of Tom Cannon.
Bangura’s pace and attacking ability make him a very exciting target for Ryan Lowe’s setup but a move for the Sierra Leone international doesn’t seem imminent.
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Preston North End’s third test of the Championship season sees them travel to Sheffield Wednesday.
Hillsborough is the venue for Saturday’s meeting, as PNE look to build on their positive start to the league campaign. Ryan Lowe’s men took a point at Bristol City on the opening day and beat Sunderland at home last weekend. Newly promoted Wednesday, though, are still looking for their first point of the season under Xisco Munoz – having lost to Southampton and Hull City.
Here, Owls reporter for Yorkshire Live, Ricky Charlesworth, gives us the lowdown on Saturday’s hosts.
Not great. Back-to-back league defeats doesn’t represent a great start and it’s been a tough re-introduction back to the Championship for them. The style of play Xisco Munoz wants to imprint hasn’t really been evident so far either, and a startling stat is that they only recorded an average of 24 per cent of possession in the first two games. There are already murmurs of discontent, even at this embryonic stage.
There was a real lull after Moore’s exit but fans eventually rallied and got behind the new manager Xisco Munoz. But the aforementioned results and performances haven’t really allayed any fears. I think, as obvious as it is to say, that the first league win will provide a real fillip – let’s hope it comes sooner rather than later.
It’s been a mixed bag. Ten have arrived so far but only four of them have experience of English football. They vary from real left-field arrivals such as Juan Delgado and Pol Valentin to players signed from some of Europe’s biggest clubs: Goalkeeper Devis Vasquez is on loan from Milan whilst the newest addition, Djeidi Gassama, was signed from super-club PSG. But many of them are an unknown quantity and it’s a case of having to wait and see whether they can cope with the rigours of the Championship.
He got plenty of minutes in the Carabao Cup against Stockport and showed a few good qualities, but his league debut against Hull wasn’t a memorable one. Wednesday lost 4-2 and although Diaby wasn’t solely at fault for any of the goals, he’ll have been disappointed to be part of a unit that shipped four times. He didn’t really display his physical prowess against the Tigers but no doubt he’ll be eager to impress on Saturday, if indeed he gets the nod against his old side.
Barry Bannan is the obvious dangerman to watch out for, but the skipper was taken off at half-time against Hull, owing to an ankle injury. He actually took an injection just to play in that match so it remains to be seen if he’ll figure here. Josh Windass is also a huge threat although he’s been quiet so far this term. Anthony Musaba, one of the new signings, has impressed in fits and bursts too with his electric pace.
I think survival would be a success this term given the upheaval experienced. The Championship seems to get stronger and stronger every year but I think once Wednesday get up to speed they should have enough to preserve their spot and then kick on next year.
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