Preston North End owners' representative Peter Ridsdale has provided an update on the situation surrounding the contracts of several of the club's players during an interview with Lancs Live.
At the time of writing North End currently have several first team players who have contracts that are set to expire at the end of the current campaign - with the list of names including the quintet of Daniel Johnson, Ben Davies, Alan Browne, Ben Pearson and Darnell Fisher - all of whom are key players under Alex Neil at present, leading to much dismay from the club's supporters.
However in a seemingly desperate bid to allay the fears of some supporters over this bad situation that surrounds the squad, Risdale was quick to state the following about the situation regarding said players with expiring contracts:
"You say hoping, it sounds as if we're throwing something across the table and quivering about what's happening next.
"We are one of the few clubs that have continued to trade by paying everybody full pay without any debt - so the owner has had to put in over double to keep us alive.
"In the mean time, we've signed a lot of players who were out of contract at the end of this season to extended deals and have offered five (other) deals to players out of contract.
Irvine? Westley? Who was the Preston North End manager when each of these 15 Lilywhites moments happened?
"And I expect one to be done very quickly - with the four everybody is jumping up and shouting about, we have made substantial offers in the last few weeks beyond their current earning.
"We are in very friendly dialogue, as to whether that will conclude satisfactory from our point of view.
"We know we've got a January transfer window coming up and I would sincerely hope that their futures will be resolved before the window opens - we are in daily, now we're at Euxton, contact with the players.
"I'm hopeful we will resolve the situation with as many of those as possible."
Preston currently occupy 18th place in the Championship standings and could well have their work cut out tonight against a Bournemouth side who are hellbent on securing an immediate promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt.
The Verdict
It appears that Risdale is seeking to calm the situation with his comments but I don't think anyone would've expected anything less from the advisor to the club's owners.
The situation surrounding the players which are listed above isn't a good one and it could have serious ramifications for the club's season if it isn't resolved promptly.
The choice here is simple for Preston's out of contract players - sign on or leave - because as Risdale rightly points out, the club's owners have gone above and beyond to keep the club afloat during the pandemic.
In short, the news that one player is apparently close to agreeing new terms should be viewed as a positive by those at Deepdale, however a solution must be found regarding the other players who are running down their deals, otherwise the club may have to look to cash in on those individuals during the upcoming January window.