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Sources: Preston North End in advanced talks to appoint Fleetwood’s James Wallace
Preston North End are in advanced talks to appoint Fleetwood Town’s James Wallace their new recruitment chief, Football Insider understands.
The Championship side have been without a head of recruitment since Joe Savage left the role in December 2020 to join Hearts in the Scottish Premier League.
A Preston source has told Football Insider that the club have considered a number of candidates for the role, but are ready to turn to former Everton and Sheffield United midfielder Wallace.
Negotiations are taking place over a deal and all parties are confident an agreement can be secured.
North End confirmed last month (27 April) that senior recruitment analyst James Beet had started a new role as player loans and pathways manager.
That left a further void in the club’s recruitment department as they look set for a busy first summer under Ryan Lowe.
They have already confirmed that Paul Huntington is set to leave the club after 10 years of service while Izzy Brown and Josh Murphy have already departed.
There are another five senior players out of contract this summer.
In addition to that, popular loan players Cameron Archer, Daniel Iversen and Sepp van den Berg are set to return to Aston Villa, Leicester City and Liverpool, respectively.
Wallace took up his role with Fleetwood after retiring as a player in the summer of 2018 and played alongside current Preston striker Ched Evans at Highbury.
He played in part in bringing former North End favourites Tom Clarke and Joe Garner to Fleetwood last season as well as League One young player of the season Paddy Lane.
Lilywhites midfielder Josh Harrop also spent the second half of the season on loan with Town.
In other news, Preston North End are racing to sign a 25-goal EFL striker.