‘Very confident’: Manager convinced his stars won’t join Celtic or Rangers

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Alex Neil is “very confident” Preston North End pair Daniel Johnson and Ben Davies won’t leave for Rangers or Celtic before the transfer window slams shut, as reported by the Daily Record.

It seems that with every season that goes by, the Lilywhites start the campaign with the ‘dark horses’ tag hanging above their head.

But if Neil wants to turn Preston into a pedigree racehorse capable of exploding out of the blocks and into the Premier League, he will be desperate to keep hold of one of the Championship’s finest defenders and arguably its most influential attacking midfielder.

Towering centre-half Davies is set to become a free agent next summer and, according to The Sun, he could sign a pre-contract agreement with Celtic in January.

Meanwhile, Glasgow neighbours Rangers have set their sights on a £2 million deal for Johnson, with director of football Ross Wilson driving the pursuit of Preston’s player of the year (Record).

However, with little more than a week remaining in the window, Neil doesn’t expect to see Davies or Johnson move north of the border.

“All of that has gone away, thankfully. We are hoping it continues that way,” says the one-time Hamilton coach.

“I am very confident none of the lads will be away.”

Celtic appear to be in the market for a central defender regardless of whether Kristoffer Ajer stays or goes, while Rangers want a dynamic goalscoring midfielder capable of easing the pressure on Alfredo Morelos, Kemar Roofe and co at Ibrox.

Johnson, a slaloming number 10 who contributed 20 goals and assists in the Championship last term, fits the bill.