Preston wanted to sign Adam Armstrong over the summer – but Newcastle wouldn’t let him join them.
Preston North End manager Simon Grayson
Preston North End manager Simon Grayson has told the club’s official website (subscription required) that Newcastle wouldn’t allow him to sign Adam Armstrong as they would only loan him to a promoted Championship club.
North End have endured a miserable start to the season, and were handed a fifth defeat in the first six games of the new campaign with a 2-1 home loss to Barnsley on Saturday.
Adam Armstrong shoots for Coventry
Scoring goals was a problem for Preston last season, and Grayson is hitting the same issue again this term, which hasn’t been helped by the sale of Joe Garner.
A fan favourite who scored 57 goals in 151 games for the club, Garner was sold to Rangers last summer – and remarkably, Preston didn’t sign a striker to replace him, making it no great surprise that they’re struggling for goals.
Adam Armstrong (R) celebrates scoring for Coventry
On Saturday, Grayson had to watch on as Barnsley clinched a 2-1 win at Deepdale, with the winning goal coming from Newcastle United-owned striker Adam Armstrong – who Grayson wanted to sign last month.
Speaking to Preston’s official website, Grayson revealed that he did actually try to bring Armstrong to Lancashire, but Newcastle wouldn’t even discuss a deal with the Lilywhites.
Preston North End manager Simon Grayson
Grayson claims that Newcastle – Armstrong’s hometown club with who he has come up through the ranks – would only allow the 19-year-old goalscorer to join a team promoted into the Championship, with Grayson seemingly frustrated that only three teams were given the chance to sign the forward.
“Armstrong is a player that we looked at, about possibly bringing him to the football club, but Newcastle made it clear that they only wanted to loan him out to any of the three promoted teams,” said Grayson. “So that ruled everybody else apart from Burton, Barnsley and Wigan out,” he added.
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