Preston North End agree loan for Premier League ace, he has a point to prove after last season ‘didn’t work’

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Poor form and a disciplinary issue came before the youngster was recalled by his parent club towards the end of the 2024/25 campaign.

Preston North End finished last season looking nervously over their shoulders towards the relegation zone, but managed to finish just one point above the drop zone.

As a result, the Lilywhites have been busy so far in the summer transfer window to equip Paul Heckingbottom with enough quality resources to better last term’s 20th finish.

Preston completed their first summer signing with a permanent deal for loan ace Daniel Iversen, and built on that by signing Thierry Smalls from Charlton Athletic.

Now, Preston have “agreed a loan deal” for a Premier League striker, who has a big point to prove after his Championship loan spell last season.

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Preston North End ‘agree loan deal’ for Bournemouth striker Daniel Jebbison

After the conclusion of the 2024/25 campaign, Preston’s retained list confirmed that star forward Emil Riis Jakobsen, who was linked with Sunderland, was set to depart Deepdale this summer upon the expiry of his contract.

Jakobsen fired 12 goals and notched two assists in 50 games across last season for Preston, and his goalscoring prowess will be a big miss given how pivotal the Dane was to their survival from League One demotion.

However, the Preston transfer team has acted swiftly in the wake of their top goalscorer’s departure, after reportedly agreeing a loan move for Bournemouth starlet Daniel Jebbison.

Additionally, the deal is a straight loan, with no obligation to buy clause on Preston’s part.

21-year-old Jebbison will arrive at Deepdale after a disastrous loan spell in the Championship in 2024/25 with Watford under Tom Cleverley, who was chosen as Miron Muslic’s replacement at Plymouth Argyle last week.

In his Watford loan spell last season, Jebbison failed to find the net in 13 second tier outings, and made matters worse after the 2-1 defeat to Sheffield United after liking the Blades’ official Instagram which displayed the final score and commenting on winning goalscorer Andre Brooks’ post.

This final straw saw the Hornets terminate Jebbison’s season-long loan early in January, and send the Englishman back to the Cherries.

Via the Bournemouth Echo, Cleverley said: “It is a loan that hasn’t worked and we have to accept that.

“He hasn’t become a worse player overnight because this move hasn’t worked.”

“No matter how bad you feel like your situation is as a player, you can always make it worse by acting with not great discipline.”

Despite scoring against West Brom and Everton in the FA Cup for Bournemouth after returning from Vicarage Road, last season’s ill-fated loan spell leaves the starlet with a big point to prove in the 2025/26 Championship campaign, one which his former coach will believe he can help him make.

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Preston boss Paul Heckingbottom can revive Daniel Jebbison’s career

Jebbison’s career is faltering, and as seen with his ill-discipline last term at Watford, the young forward is in desperate need of guidance and confidence away from the pressures of top flight action for the Cherries.

As a result, the Preston loan move makes great sense for the Canadian international, as current Lilywhites boss Heckingbottom was pivotal to the former Sheffield United prospect’s development as a youngster.

Jebbison burst onto the Premier League scene at the Blades, under Heckingbottom’s tutelage, during the 2020/21 campaign and would continue to develop at Bramall Lane thanks to his guidance.

In January 2023, Heckingbottom revealed that he was desperate for Jebbison to stay at Sheffield United before the striker joined Bournemouth the following summer.

Via The Star, Heckingbottom said of Jebbison’s contract situation: “Yes, definitely (I want him to stay). We brought him through, him and Will (Osula). I had them in my first-ever training session, when they were 15.”

If any head coach can get the Cherries starlet’s career back on track and right the wrongs from his disastrous Hornets loan spell, it is his former coach, Heckingbottom.