Even by Championship standards, Preston North End are not a club who are notorious for spending big in the transfer market.

Never the less, the Lancashire club have still had to put their money where their mouth is when it comes to player recruitment, with some signings more successful than others, as is the case at any club.

But what has happened to some of those that Preston have spent big on in recent times?

Here, in order to find out, we've taken a look at what North End's eight most expensive signings - based on their transfer fees according to Transfermarkt - are up to now.

Declan Rudd

Having already spent a year-and-a-half on loan at Preston earlier in his career, Rudd was no stranger to Deepdale when North End signed him from Norwich for a reported £1.02million in 2017.

Since his return to Lancashire, the goalkeeper has made a further 113 appearances in all competitions for North End, and signed a new long-term contract with the club earlier this year.

Richard Chaplow

Chapow joined Preston from West Brom in January 2008, for a reported £1.08million, and went onto make 75 appearances for the club over the next two-and-a-half years.

Spells with Southampton, Millwall, Ipswich and Doncaster followed, before he ended his career in the American lower leagues with Orange County, a club where he was appointed assistant manager in early 2019, following his retirement from playing at the end of the previous year.

Emil Riis

Riis only joined Preston from Randers in his native Denmark for a reported £1.35million back in the summer transfer window.

Since then, he's made ten appearances for Alex Neil's side, scoring once in a 3-0 win at Reading, and will no doubt be looking to add to that tally as the season goes on.

Brad Potts

Potts joined Preston from Barnsley back in the 2019 January transfer window, for a fee said to be in the region of £1.44million, and is still at the club now.

It's been something of a stop-start time for the attacking midfielder at Deepdale, with Potts scoring six goals in 60 appearances in total, although at 26-years-old, and with a year-and-a-half remaining on his current contract, there is still time for him to improve that record.

Darren Carter

Carter made the move from West Brom to Deepdale for a reported £1.69million in the summer of 2007, and went on just over 100 appearances for Preston.

Leaving in 2011, the midfielder then had a year out of senior football, where opportunities to find a new club where hampered by injuries, before joining Cheltenham at the start of the 2012/13 season. After a season there, he spent time with Northampton and Forest Green, before the now 36-year-old joined current club Solihull Moors in 2017, and has so far played 129 games for the National League side.

David Healy

Joining from Manchester United right at the end of 2000 for £1.8million, Healy proved a big hit at Preston, scoring almost 50 goals for the club and emerging as a fan favourite before leaving for Leeds in 2004.

A successful stint at Elland Road was followed by spells with Fulham, Sunderland, Ipswich, Doncaster, Rangers and Bury, before Healy retired from playing at the age of 34 in December 2013. Since 2015, the former striker has managed Linfield in his native Northern Ireland, winning three league titles and two domestic cups in that time.

Tom Bayliss

Things have never really got going for Bayliss since he joined Preston from Coventry for a reported £1.98million on a four-year deal in the summer of 2019.

Since his move to Deepdale, the 21-year-old midfielder has made just a handful of appearances for the club, meaning he has so far been unable to build on the promise he showed at Coventry, although time is still on his side in terms of doing that in the future.

Neil Mellor

Mellor joined Preston from Liverpool in August 2006 for a reported £2.07million, and would prove to be a useful piece of business for the Lillywhites.

The striker scored 43 goals in 150 appearances in all competitions for North End, before retiring at the age of 29 due to a knee injury in May 2012. Since then, Mellor has gone into media work, linking up with LFCTV and Sky Sports, often reporting on Preston games for the latter.