Preston North End will not be signing Xavi Quintilla from Villarreal this summer, according to a report from LancsLive.

The Lilywhites were aiming to secure the services of the 25-year-old after making the left wing-back role a priority position in terms of where they want to strengthen ahead of the 2022/23 campaign.

However, it is now understood that a proposed move will no longer be taking place due to issues over a work permit.

A resolution for this problem could not be found and thus Preston are now believed to be looking at alternative targets.

A Governing Body Endorsement permit must now be obtained by clubs looking to sign players from overseas as a result of Brexit.

This works on a points system in which an individual has to register a total of 15 in order to move to the United Kingdom.

Quintilla reportedly fell short of this target as the previous 12 months are used as a reference period.

The defender spent the 2021/22 campaign on loan at Leganes.

During this particular stint, Quintilla played 15 league games for the Spanish outfit whilst he also featured in the Copa Del Rey on three occasions.

The Verdict

This is a blow for Preston as they would have been hoping to reach a breakthrough in their pursuit of Quintilla.

Given that the defender is not set to make the move to Deepdale, it will be interesting to see what the future holds for him at Villarreal.

With his current deal set to run until 2023, Quintilla may be sold to another team in Europe for a reasonable fee by the Yellow Submarine.

As for Preston, their attention will now switch to finding a player who will be able to provide some competition for Greg Cunningham.

Cunningham was one of a number of players who was given the opportunity to operate as a wing-back last season.

Josh Earl, Andrew Hughes, Ali McCann and Daniel Johnson were also handed the chance to impress in this role by Lilywhites manager Ryan Lowe.