PNE finished 14th in the Championship
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Former Preston North End goalkeeper Alan Kelly Jnr would not hesitate about spending a significant sum on Alfie Devine.
The future of the Tottenham Hotspur man will be a key focus over the summer, following his excellent loan spell at Deepdale. PNE have an option-to-buy the midfielder for a fee thought to be in the region of £4.5million.
While personal terms and the structure of a deal are already agreed, Devine will still have the final say on his future. But, if Preston can afford the transfer fee then Kelly Jnr views it as a no brainer given his talent and influence on the side.
“Yeah, it depends how you look at it,” he told the Lancashire Post. “If you look at the squad as a whole, some experienced lads in there, the sprinkling of youth. But then you look at Devine and you look at game changers... you look at what he can bring to you.
“One, as the manager. Two, as a club to excite the fans. Three, publicly, in terms of looking to compete. I'm only going off what I read, maybe £4million... would you put your whole budget on Devine? That's the question that everybody asks.
“For me, I would. For what he brings to the side and what he's shown, I think he started 36 games but played 43. So, he was one of the major, key players of last season and one of the major players in that first half of the season. What you're saying is, ‘I put trust in you, we want to build around you’.
“I think Paul's probably on about that process of building a team that is ours, and we're not saying, ‘Thank you very much for loaning us a player’. It's like anything, if you don't get the foundations right and then it starts to crumble, everything falls down.”
Jebbison reunion?
Manager Paul Heckingbottom said towards the end of the season that he’d like to try and bring all loan players back. While Lewis Dobbin will probably prove out of reach given the attacking numbers he produced, Jebbison may be a more realistic target. He had a mixed season but his relationship with Heckingbottom is strong, while fans took to the number nine. Kelly Jnr feels there is clear potential with the Canadian.
“Yeah, again I would show him after every game, every clip of what he's done well and say, ‘In this situation, this is what I want from you.” said Kelly Jnr. “Obviously, Paul is telling him that because he chipped in.
“You look at Dobbin, Jebbison, Devine, pretty much that's your goal tally all from loan players. That's what the worry would be for every fan now, that if you lose those three loan players you're taking out a massive goal/assist base from your team.
“But I think Jebbison is maturing and within that, he's still learning the game. I think he's got to work out what works for him. He's got his physicality, he's got his size, he's got his speed. I think his finishing can be better at times. Towards the back of the season, I think he had a couple of headers that went wide at critical times.
“But, he was in the right place. There's the relationship with the manager, who feels he can get the best out of him. So yeah, nobody knows what's going to happen with Osmajic; he only had 20 starts this season. But, he's coming from a Premier League team and what's that going to cost?”