Warren, 24, was on the Manchester United books before heading to Salford City in 2019. Warren dropped into non-league with Boston United before shining under Pete Wild at Halifax Town. Wild then took Warren to Barrow over the summer and immediately branded him as a ‘huge prospect’ for the future. Warren has played as a right back, centre back and wing back, potentially lending himself towards playing a host of roles in Ryan Lowe’s 3-5-2 – just like Sepp van den Berg in the past. This trip may not have been about scouting at all but given North End’s needs, Warren may be a reasonable sho
Bobby Clark joined Liverpool from Newcastle United in August 2021 and signed his first professional contract with the club in February 2022. An attacking player who can play anywhere across the forward line and in midfield, he started Academy life with the U18s squad. The son of former Newcastle midfielder Lee Clark, Bobby scored on his U18s debut in the 3-3 draw away at Nottingham Forest and ended 2021-22 with 13 goals in all competitions. He played for the senior team on their pre-season tour of Asia in July 2022 and then achieved a debut under Jürgen Klopp as a substitute against Bournemouth in the Premier League the next month.
Do the links to PNE make sense? We’re always a little doubtful whenever three or more clubs are linked with the same player. Rumours of that ilk always have an air of being agent-led and Leonard just doesn’t fit the priorities for Ryan Lowe this month. Lowe wants a right wing back and a striker this month with North End well-stocked in midfield as it is. Ryan Ledson just signed a new contract with Ben Whiteman, Ali McCann, Alan Browne and Daniel Johnson also in the mix. The only way we can really see Leonard arriving is if he’s being eyed just in case an incredible offer comes in for Ben Whiteman. Leonard likes to dictate play from deep like Whiteman, though there haven’t really been rumours about him leaving PNE. We’re doubting a move for Leonard materialises this month but maybe the Scot is one to keep an eye on for future windows.
Does the Cannon rumour makes sense for PNE? Going for another young Premier League striker after missing out on Archer certainly adds up given PNE’s limited budget. PNE also have a strong tie to Everton with former Toffees midfielder James Wallace now the chief scout at Deepdale. Wallace oversaw Everton talents Lewis Gibson and Callum Connolly signing for Fleetwood Town and likely still has an eye on the young talents emerging at Goodison Park. Then you add in that PNE boss Ryan Lowe was spotted watching Everton Under-21’s against Paris Saint-Germain in November. We noted at the time that Cannon made sense as a potential target for North End. Cannon scored twice in that game and will have surely made an impression on Lowe. PNE fans may be dubious on Alan Nixon’s (of The Sun) reliability but in a vacuum, we think the speculation linking Cannon with North End make plenty of sense.