Preston haven't got the biggest budget in the world and have had to deal with searching for bargains and hidden talent over the last few seasons - and it's often paid off for them.

By adding the likes of Jordan Hugill, Callum Robinson, Ben Whiteman, Ryan Ledson and Ben Pearson, they have been able to challenge near the top end of the Championship table and have been close to the play-off places previously. In fact, during Alex Neil's first campaign in charge, the club finished in seventh.

However, when shopping in the bargain basement, you can often end up with a few dud signings as well and those who come in to plenty of hype only to end up underwhelming and not being as successful as they - and the Lilywhites - would like.

With that in mind then, who are the two most underwhelming signings from the last five years?

David Nugent

There are a few names that could be considered as underwhelming but David Nugent is arguably the most. He's still a club hero and if he ever fancied a return as a coach or in some other capacity, he would no doubt be welcomed back with open arms.

However, during his most recent stint at Deepdale, he hit nowhere near the same heights as previously and couldn't offer as much as the side would have liked in attack.

In the 2019/20 season, he finally returned to PNE and the fans were overjoyed. It was the return of their prodigal son.

However, at 34-years-old, he could no longer bang in the goals as he once did or have the same impact in leading the line as he did previously. He was given ample opportunity to do so - he featured in 24 league games for PNE during his one and only campaign there - but only managed one goal and often went missing in games.

It's no surprise considering where he was at in his career that he couldn't score as frequently as he once did but they would have at least liked a little more from him. Instead, he was often absent during the games in which he did start and ended up being let go at the end of his deal on a free.

Andre Green

Another signing - albeit not a permanent one - that flattered to deceive is Andre Green. Whilst there are other permanent signings that have signed for the club since that have yet to have the desired impact, many expected plenty of creativity and verve from Green.

Having joined on a short-term basis from Aston Villa - a club that Preston had raided previously with great success to land the likes of Daniel Johnson and Callum Robinson - the signs were there that he could be the next name on that list.

However, he only ever managed four league appearances for the Lilywhites and never looked as threatening or as exciting on the ball as many expected. That could largely be down to the fact that he didn't get much of a run in the side (and he never did have a start for the club during his time there) but more was largely expected from him upon his signing, meaning he has to go down as underwhelming.

Whether that is entirely his fault or his manager's is down to personal opinion but it certainly didn't work out the way everyone would have hoped at Deepdale.