Colby Bishop has already proved he can be a Championship success as Blackpool close in on deal

There's nothing Blackpool fans enjoy more than getting one over Preston North End and if Michael Appleton's side can secure the signing of striker Colby Bishop they have a player who has already proved he can cause the Lilywhites and Championship defences problems.

Bishop is on the brink of moving to Bloomfield Road from Accrington Stanley in a deal worth £500,000 with the Seasiders swooping to sign the frontman from under the noses of League One side Portsmouth. Appleton has been keen to strengthen his squad and the arrival of the 25-year-old would give Blackpool an added dimension in attack.

Bishop scored 15 times for Stanley last season with 12 of those coming in the third tier and his performance for the Reds in their 1-0 friendly defeat to North End last weekend drew praise from his manager.

"I thought Colby was excellent in the first half, their defence couldn't handle him," said Accy chief John Coleman. "He just gets manhandled all the time, particularly when defenders can't handle him, and they couldn't handle him for the first half hour, he was too good for them in the air, he was too strong for them."

That bodes well for Blackpool and Coleman, who swooped to pluck the striker from non league Leamington Spa and his day job as a teacher in 2019, is a huge fan of a player who attracted the interest of Peterborough last season when he had a £1.5million pricetag on his head. Now in the final year of his deal at the Wham Stadium, he is available at a lower price and Coleman is certain he would handle the step up.

“Colby is such a good player. I am staggered there aren’t Championship clubs all over him," Coleman said last season. "I know Peterborough made a bid for him in the last window but he is so important to