Preston North End manager Simon Grayson has suggested that the club are interested in Cork City striker Sean Maguire, although there is no guarantee that they will make a move.
The Irish forward is second top scorer in the 2017 League of Ireland Premier Division with eight goals, following a 2016 which saw him net 18 in the league.
His form has raised speculation that English clubs could take an interest in taking the 22 year old to a nation where had played for Accrington Stanley on loan from West Ham.
Preston are one such club, having signed former Dundalk duo Daryl Horgan and Andy Boyle in January.
Grayson was at Cork City's match against St Patrick's Athletic last Friday to keep tabs on Maguire and he told The Lancashire Post that he had hoped to see the player in live action.
"It is pretty public knowledge that I went to Dublin at the weekend with Peter Ridsdale. We know quite a bit about the player and this was a good chance to watch him live with us not playing until Monday," he said.
"Time will tell if we decide to pursue it anymore. He is a decent player, his goals tally will tell you that. Sometimes players come to England, it doesn’t work out, they go back to Ireland but then it suddenly clicks. The fact we have Daryl Horgan and Andy Boyle shows we are not frightened to go to that level.
"We watch players many times before making decisions and I’d not had the chance to see Maguire before."
Speaking to Newstalk's Airtricity League podcast, Maguire stated that his focus remains on Cork City as the club make a good start in their bid to claim the league title.
"If the opportunity arises for me to go to England and play in a high level like The Championship, we'll have to talk about it at the time. I'm fully focused on what to do with Cork City. We're heading in the right direction towards the league title," he said.
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