Preston North End manager Ryan Lowe has revealed when it will be known whether centre back Bambo Diaby will be offered a new contract by the club.

Diaby joined Preston back in January, following a two-year ban for failing a drugs test while playing for Barnsley in November 2019.

Since linking up with North End, the 24-year-old has made six Championship appearances for Ryan Lowe's side.

But with his contract at Deepdale set to expire at the end of this season, Diaby's long term future is once again set to be up in the air.

However, it now seems as though it may not be long until there is confirmation as to whether there is a future for the defender at Preston.

Speaking in the wake of his side's win over Barnsley on Saturday - in which Diaby came on as a half time substitute - Lowe was asked whether the defender would be handed a new contract by the club.

Responding to that question, the Preston boss was quoted by The Lancashire Evening Post as simply saying: "I will tell you next week."

With one game of the season remaining, Preston sit 14th in the Championship table, out of reach of both the play-off places and the relegation zone.

The Verdict

There could well be an argument for Preston offering a new contract to Diaby.

Veteran Paul Huntington sees his own deal at Deepdale come to an end in the summer, while Sepp van den Berg could also return to Liverpool after his latest loan spell with North End.

That means that the club could be short on options in the centre of their defence regardless of what happens with Diaby, so they may be reluctant to give themselves even more work in the transfer market, at a time when deals may be hard to do.

As a result, given the 24-year-old has been a fairly useful option for North End when called upon in the past few months, a fresh deal for Diaby could yet make sense.