Preston North End make statement signing with Freddie Woodman

Championship side Preston North End made their first move of the summer transfer window with a huge statement signing as they announced the permanent acquisition of Freddie Woodman from Newcastle United.

It’s North End’s first signing of the window after the only business they had done so far was giving a contract extension to former Barnsley defender Bambo Diaby.

The keeper had been linked with a move to the north-west for a couple of weeks, but the announcement of a permanent deal came as a surprise to a number of the Preston faithful.

Last year, Preston’s success was largely down to loan signings in the form of Sepp Van den Berg, Daniel Iverson and Cameron Archer, so it wouldn’t have been wrong to expect Woodman to come in as a temporary.

The goalkeeper is no stranger to a loan move either having spent two years on loan at Swansea City before spending the second part of last season on loan at Bournemouth who were later promoted to the Premier League.

But after three loan spells, 88 championship appearances whilst keeping 32 clean sheets, it’s clearly time for Woodman to find a more permanent home.

Whilst it’s also time for the former Newcastle man to settle down, it’s the first time North End might have a settled period in the ‘number one’ spot. For years, the Lancashire side have had a loanee as their number one, with Sam Johnstone, Jordan Pickford and Daniel Iverson to name just a few.

And with them heading into this pre-season with no professional keeper on the books after the departure of Iverson (loan ended), Connor Ripley and Matthew Hudson (released), it was crucial that Ryan Lowe got his number one sorted early on before panic began to set in.

With Woodman still only 25 but with a healthy amount of Championship experience under his belt including winning a golden glove at this level, it’s a statement of intent from the Lilywhites as they prepare for their first campaign under Ryan Lowe.

After being linked with some impressive names so far this campaign, should the historic club manage to get the deals over the line, they could be dark horses for the upcoming campaign.

Names like Cameron Archer, Andre Gray and Cyprus Christie are just a few that have been branded around the local media and whilst June is always filled with fairly aimless and sometimes hopeful speculation, it feels like a positive time for Preston fans.

After a quite excellent season ticket campaign which sold around 11.5k season cards, the most sold in over 50 years at Deepdale, and a trip to Alicante announced as North End fans get to watch their side abroad as they take on La Liga side Getafe, the club are giving the fans plenty to be excited about.

With a few more deals expected to be announced before the first pre-season test which is against local non-league side Bamber Bridge on Saturday July 2, the Preston North End faithful could be in for an exciting campaign.

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