Preston tell Old Firm to stump up for star duo

PRESTON last night fired a warning shot across the bows of both Rangers and Celtic by insisting that Daniel Johnson and Ben Davies won’t be allowed to leave for ‘underwhelming’ offers. Former Leeds chairman Peter Ridsdale, now front man for Preston owner Trevor Hemmings, claimed no club had met the asking price for either player. And he said that any attempt to pay by instalments won’t be enough to steal away key assets from Alex Neil’s team. Steven Gerrard is desperate to land midfielder Johnson, with injuries to Joe Aribo and Ryan Jack prompting the Ibrox boss to make a weekend appeal for swift action in the transfer market. Davies has been on Neil Lennon’s radar for some time, meanwhile, although the Scottish champions face competition for the

£5million-rated defender from Bournemouth. Although he didn’t name either of the Old Firm clubs specifically, Ridsdale took the unusual step of publicly lashing out at teams ‘attempting to do their bidding through the press and social media’. He said: ‘Some of the so-called “informed” comments have claimed that transfer fees have been agreed between us and at least one other club for named players. At the time of writing this statement, no bids for any of our players have been agreed. ‘Any approaches that have been made have been underwhelming in both quantum and payment timescales. ‘We have always accepted that buying and selling players is a normal part of our business, but at the right price. ‘Some of the so-called “informed” comments on social media are not only unhelpful, but frankly not true. We attempt to conduct our transfer dealings club-to-club and only announce a deal once all parties have agreed. ‘We have made bids for a number of players this summer but, as deals were not finalised, we have refrained from confirming the identity of potential targets. This will remain our approach. ‘If and when there is anything definitive to say for either incomings or sales, we will make a factual statement at that time.’

Meanwhile, Charlton are continuing to play hardball with Celtic over midfield target Alfie Doughty. The 20-year-old Addicks star is out of contract at the end of the season and could sign a pre-contract agreement with the Parkhead club in January. Charlton boss Lee Bowyer would rather hold on to the bright prospect for the rest of the campaign. Celtic have reportedly had two bids for £400,000 and then £650,000 rejected by the south London club.