Preston North End should try to sign Burnley defender this summer

Preston North End put themselves in the history books at the start of the 2022-23 Championship season when they became just the third team in the top four divisions to notch seven clean sheets in a row to begin a campaign.

It was even more impressive considering North End don’t have the most expensively assembled squad, but that good start soon evaporated.

Over the course of the league season, North End conceded four goals in a match six times, which showed that they were vulnerable at the back despite their strong start, and it’s an area that could be improved this summer.

On top of that, there is apparent interest in Jordan Storey, who was a key part of Ryan Lowe’s starting 11 last season having played 44 times in the Championship, and he also led the entire division in terms of interceptions by making 90 over the course of the campaign.

Sheffield Wednesday interested in Jordan Storey

There’s perhaps a need at Deepdale to sell players for profit and then re-invest after the last couple of years, and Sheffield Wednesday are believed to be interested in bringing Storey back to Hillsborough this summer following his loan spell two seasons ago at the club when they were in League One.

However, Darren Moore’s sacking this past week may have ended that – regardless though North End could improve their back-line.

And there is a player available for a move who plies his trade at the other end of the M65 in Lancashire at Burnley in the form of Luke McNally who could provide the perfect fit for Lowe.

Why should Preston North End try to sign Luke McNally?

McNally is still pretty inexperienced in the professional game at the age of 23, having played just 113 matches in his young career, but he’s had a quick progression through the ranks, from St Patrick’s Athletic in the League of Ireland to League One outfit Oxford United, before Burnley signed him for a seven-figure fee last summer.

Unable to get ahead of the likes of Taylor Harwood-Bellis, Jordan Beyer and Charlie Taylor though, the Irishman struggled for game-time and coupled with the January arrivals of Hjalmar Ekdal and Ameen Al-Dakhil, Vincent Kompany was keen to see him get minutes and therefore he was sent to Coventry City on loan.

McNally flourished under Mark Robins, playing every single minute of the 19 regular season games he was available for for the Sky Blues, with eight clean sheets kept and just 11 goals conceded – that form carried into the play-offs as well as despite losing out in the final against Luton, Cov and McNally conceded just the once in 300 minutes of football.

Naturally, Coventry will likely try to sign McNally yet again and it’s a move that would make sense, but with his ball-playing abilities he would be an ideal fit for the right-hand side of PNE’s back three, with Storey perhaps not quite as capable in that position which he has occupied for the last year.

It could be argued that Storey is more suited to playing in the middle of the back three, and with Liam Lindsay’s performances dropping off rapidly as the season went on, a back three of McNally, Storey and Andrew Hughes suddenly looks a lot more solid and mobile.

Obviously with McNally available for loan again, many Championship clubs are going to be interested in taking him, but PNE’s location could very well put them high up the list – and if you don’t ask, you don’t get.