Charlton Athletic and Preston North End are both interested in Sheffield United midfielder Regan Slater, but are behind Hull City in the player's list of preferred destinations, a report from The Hull Daily Mail has claimed.

Slater spent last season on loan with Hull, making 34 appearances in all competitions to help the club secure promotion back to the Championship as League One title winners.

It had previously been reported that Hull have had a bid to re-sign Slater permanently accepted by Sheffield United earlier this summer, but that a deal has now been put on hold, with new Blades manager Slavisa Jokanovic keen to hold talks with the 21-year-old over his future.

Now it seems as though Hull are not alone with their interest in a deal for Slater either.

According to this latest update, the Tigers' Championship rivals Preston and League One promotion hopefuls Charlton are both also keen to sign Slater.

However, it is thought that Slater would prefer a return to the KCOM Stadium for next season, with the Addicks and North End seemingly behind Hull in Slater's list of priorities.

With Jokanovic waiting to hold talks with Slater, any deal for Hull is on hold for now, although Tigers manager Grant McCann is said to still be hopeful of completing a deal for the midfielder.

The Verdict

It looks as though this could end up to be a rather frustrating situation for Charlton and Preston.

Slater is clearly a promising player, and his promotion experience last season could certainly have been useful to Charlton in particular next season in League One.

But with his future at Bramall Lane still to officially be decided, and Hull seemingly in pole position to complete a deal if Slater does move on, it does appear as though it would be difficult for another club to win this transfer battle.

However, if Sheffield United do look to move Slater on this summer, you wonder whether they themselves may be inclined to try and engineer a bidding war here, given the level of interest there is in the 21-year-old.