David Nugent has been told to stay at home by Preston North End as Alex Neil prepares his squad for the start of the Sky Bet Championship campaign.

Preston are yet to bring anyone in this summer, but already have quite a large squad heading into the 2020/21 Championship season.

Alex Neil's side face Swansea City at Deepdale this afternoon, but one player who will be absent from the matchday squad is David Nugent.

Quiz: 6 of these Preston North End facts are false – Can you identify them?

Nugent joined Preston on a free transfer from Derby County last summer, but his time at Deepdale hasn't gone to plan since, and he's fallen way out of favour under Alex Neil.

The 35-year-old has made a total of 25 appearances for the Lilywhites, but has scored only one goal in 24 league appearance for Neil's side.

With the likes of Jayden Stockley, Sean Maguire and Louis Moult ahead of him in the pecking order, Nugent's time at Deepdale looks to be over.

According to Rob Dorsett of Sky Sports, the experienced striker has been told to stay at home on full pay and has been excluded from the squad, as the club look to find a move for him.

Nugent only has one year left on his contract at Deepdale, so it seems as if the club are looking to receive any sort of fee for his services, rather than potentially lose him for free next summer.

The Verdict

Nugent is 35 now and probably doesn't have the quality to be playing in the Championship anymore.

He has endured a fantastic career in the Premier League and the Championship, but you can see him dropping down into League One or Two now.

Northampton Town were recently said to be in for him, so maybe a move to Sixfields would be a good one for him.