Preston offer Robbie Brady and Greg Cunningham new deals but Harry Nevin to leave
New Preston deals for Robbie Brady and Greg Cunningham. Photo credit: Simon Marper/PA Wire.
Preston North End have offered contract extensions to Ireland internationals Robbie Brady and Greg Cunningham but Cork youngster Harry Nevin has been released as Ryan Lowe reshapes his squad.
The Lilywhites drifted from the playoff hunt in the latter stages of the season, despite the goals of on-loan Ireland U21 striker Tom Cannon, eventually finishing six points off the top six in 12th position.
Brady only moved to Deepdale last summer a year-long deal from promoted Bournemouth, playing 35 times predominantly as a left wing-back in Lowe’s preferred 3-5-2 system.
Galway native Cunningham is eight years at the club and, like Brady, was awaiting news on his contract situation. At 32, he is exactly 12 months older than his compatriot.
Strikers Cannon and Troy Parrott have returned to Everton and Tottenham Hotspur following the completion of their loan deals but Lowe says they’re well positioned if the Premier League clubs choose to lend them again next season.
19-year-old defender Nevin had been three years at the club since joining from Cork City.
Club captain Alan Browne, currently battling back from medical ligament damage to be fit for Ireland’s crucial Euro 2024 qualifier in Greece on June 16, is contracted to Preston for another year.
The club’s owner Craig Hemmings, whose company Grovemoor rescued Cork City in 2020 but opted against a full takeover last year, confirmed the playing budget remains unchanged for the 2023/24 season.
His family continues to underwrite the bulk of trading losses but has cited points deductions at other Championship clubs in recent years to support his stance of maintaining a prudent approach to funding contracts and transfers.
Hemmings said in his end-of-season message: “Player budgets for next season have been discussed in detail with the manager (and his coaching team). As I have outlined on numerous occasions, we do not have the luxury of the riches of the parachute payments.
"Also, like every club in the Championship, we are constrained by Financial Fair Play rules (FFP), which means we must keep our (three year accumulated) losses to under £39m.
"That is a huge number, but we are aware of many clubs in the Championship that are very close to or have already breached this loss figure. We saw, last season, a number of clubs face points deductions due to financial uncertainties. We anticipate more clubs risk sanctions this coming season.
"We are not immune to this threat – we too are constrained by large annual losses. Our accumulated losses mean there is little headroom beyond what we have budgeted.
"To put things succinctly – for those fans wanting us to spend more on player recruitment than we have budgeted for 2023/24, we cannot. We would potentially break FFP rules and risk a points deduction."
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