Preston North End's head of recruitment Joe Savage has emerged as a potential target for Southampton in the Premier League side's search for a new Sporting Director, a report from The Independent has claimed.

The Saints, who currently find themselves 18th in the Premier League, are searching for a new man to fill that particular position following the departure of Ross Wilson to Scottish giants Rangers last month.

It is thought that Savage is one option to have caught the eye of the South Coast club, following his work in helping North End climb to second in the current Championship standings despite operating on one of the smallest budgets in the division.

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Savage moved to Deepdale along with manager Alex Neil in 2017, having previously worked with the North End boss at both Hamilton Academical and Norwich City.

As well as Southampton, it is thought that Hearts are also interested in a move for Savage.

The Scottish Premier League strugglers are searching for someone to specifically fill a sporting director role, following the recent sacking of Craig Levein, who had worked as manager as well as carrying out that position behind the scenes.

The Verdict

This will be a concern for Preston.

It could be argued that their push for promotion is already being threatened by rumours of interest in a number of their players ahead of the January transfer window, and they will not want those distractions behind the scenes either.

Indeed, if they are to lose a number of players in January, then the departure of their head of recruitment would also be a big blow, given the importance replacing any leavers could have to their push for promotion.

That being said, given his long working relationship with Alex Neil, and the opportunity that this Preston currently have to win a spectacular promotion to the Premier League, you wonder whether Savage could be tempted to remain at Deepdale, especially when you consider the struggles currently facing those sides interested in him.