HAY E S O F G L OR Y
PRESTON have refused to rule out a summer swoop for Jonny Hayes but claim their priority is on finishing the season.
The Republic of Ireland international is on the hunt for a new club after parting ways with Scottish kingpins Celtic at the weekend.
Winger Hayes, 32, was out of contract after three seasons at Parkhead and had been hoping to land a new deal.
But having been on the fringes, the Dubliner is also eager to play regularly and already has a number of summer suitors.
Alex Neil’s Preston North End, Cardiff City and Stoke City have all been linked, as has his former club Aberdeen who Hayes admits he will “always love”.
But while Peter Ridsdale has left the door open for an approach, he claims Preston’s immediate focus is on completing the disrupted season.
Ridsdale is an advisor to the club and its owner Trevor Hemmings – who was linked with a Cork City takeover in February.
Hayes was on Preston’s radar before and Ridsdale confirmed: “That was a year or so ago, certainly before we brought in Scott Sinclair [ from Celtic].
“We’ve got Scott for that position. It might be that we are getting linked through agents but there has been no contact from us.
“At the moment agents are ringing us up on a daily basis to see what our plans are for the summer – that’s their job.
“But we can’t make plans for the summer yet, we have to play these last nine games and then hopefully the play-offs.
“There might be changes in football after what has happened during the pandemic. It could be that there is a cap on the number of players you have in your squad.
“Things like that will shape how you approach things after this season has ended. We have to finish the season first.”
Without a match for two-and-ahalf months and facing behindclosed-doors games, Ridsdale stressed that financial prudence rather than a shopping spree is a must.
Speaking to the Lancashire Post, he said: “We’ve got a squad of 27 plus some youngsters and our first concern is to make sure we can pay those players.
“This is not the time to be talking about bringing in other players and adding to what we have got.
“We’ve got to focus on finishing this season and then we’ll see where we are at in the summer.
“We’re certainly not at the stage of making approaches for players. If we’re being linked with players, it’s not because of anything we have done.”