Preston North End closing in on signing of 31-year-old

Preston North End are set to add experienced stopper Dai Cornell to their ranks, according to TalkSPORT’s Alex Crook.

The Lilywhites have had to completely restructure their goalkeeping department this summer, with Declan Rudd retiring just before the 2021-22 season finished, as well as both Connor Ripley and Matt Hudson being released.

On top of that, Daniel Iversen was unlikely to return for a third loan spell from Leicester City, leaving manager Ryan Lowe needing at least two new goalkeepers ahead of pre-season.

Freddie Woodman has arrived from Newcastle United on a permanent three-year deal as Iversen’s replacement, and now it appears that Cornell is going to be his uunderstudy.

The 31-year-old started his career at Swansea City, playing for Wales at three different youth levels during his time at the club, but he only ever made one senior appearance for them and ended up out on loan at various outfits.

After a stint at Oldham, Cornell was a regular in Northampton Town’s side in League Two between 2018 and 2020 before joining Ipswich Town, and then he signed for Peterborough United for the 2021-22 campaign.

Cornell played 30 times in the Championship for Posh last season, but was announced as one of the club’s released players last month following their relegation to League One.

The Verdict

Even though he hadn’t played a game of Championship football in his career before this past season, Cornell had some good games for Posh – as well as some shaky moments.

Having spent a lot of his career as an understudy, Cornell doesn’t have as many minutes as some goalkeepers the same age as him, but he can certainly do a job for North End as a back-up.

Unless Woodman picks up an injury, then it’s unlikely that Cornell will be