Why Scott Sinclair could be a smart signing for Preston North End

Back in July, the Football Scotland had claimed Preston North End were interested in signing Celtic forward Scott Sinclair on a season-long loan, but the Hoops rejected the offer. The winger was rated at £2.5million by the club and it was believed then Celtic are only interested in a permanent deal.

Signed for £4 million by Brendan Rodgers four years ago, Scott Sinclair, 30, is in the final year of his contract at Celtic Park after an extension was triggered earlier this year. He has made 168 appearances in all competitions since joining the Hoops in the summer of 2016, scoring 63 goals.

But the speedy winger has been on the fringes this season, with manager Neil Lennon preferring the likes of James Forrest, Mohamed Elyounoussi and Ryan Christie ahead of him. As a result, Sinclair has managed just six appearances in all competitions.

With the 30-year-old out of favour under Lennon, Preston must reignite their interest and look to sign him during the January transfer window.

Preston’s summer transfer window was a little disappointing, with big signings failing to materialise for Alex Neil and co. Even after selling Callum Robinson to Sheffield United, they managed to bring in only a handful of players.

Yet, Neil’s side have enjoyed a fantastic start to the new Championship campaign and have truly been a surprise package.

Neil is clearly a manager full of talent and has a knack of getting the best out of his players.

Despite a very solid start to the season, the Preston boss should strengthen his squad further in January knowing he will need great depth within his side if he is to maintain a promotion challenge over the course of a gruelling Championship season.

The likes of Tom Barkhuizen, Sean Maguire and Josh Harrop have been impressive in North End’s attack but if Neil genuinely wants to earn automatic promotion, he must go all out for Scott Sinclair.

Sinclair smashed43 goals in his first two seasons with Celtic, and whilst many thought he struggled the last term, he still ended up with 17 goals to his name. In fact, the 30-year-old played a crucial role in helping the Bhoys win the treble ‘Treble’ last season.

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Even if he has turned 30, Sinclair has still a lot to offer and would be a smart addition to Preston’s attack. With his pace, movement, trickery and ability to play in different attacking positions, not only will he be a menace for the Championship defenders but also boost Neil’s squad.

Verdict

Celtic are hardly going to let Sinclair run down his contract, so they would be open to selling him in January. And that’s when Preston must do everything to their powers to bag a cut-price deal for the 30-year-old winger.