HUDDERSFIELD Town defender Neal Trotman could be playing in the Championship next season - not for Town but for Preston North End.
Preston boss Darren Ferguson has said he will take a close look at the defensive anchor, on loan at Town from the Lancashire club, until the end of the season, during the play-offs.
Former Peterborough United boss Ferguson plans to take in one of the knock-out games as Town bid for a place at Wembley and a return to the Championship.
The centre of North End’s defence is a position which will be a priority for Ferguson to address in the summer.
Whether Mancunian Trotman will be part of Ferguson’s rebuilding plans could hinge on his performances in the play-offs.
According to reports in the Lanchashire Evening Post, Ferguson says the 23-year-old ‘may come into the equation for next season’.
He said: “Neal has done all right at Huddersfield. The lad is playing in a team which has been doing well.
“To be fair I’m glad Huddersfield are going to be in the play-offs because they will be tough games.
“I’ve had some good reports on Neal and I will probably see for myself how he does in the play-offs.
“He may come into the equation for next season, but centre-half is definitely an area I have to strengthen for next season.
“Neal was highly thought of when he came here.
“He’s had the injury he had and there’s no doubt it set him back.”
Trotman had pulled on a Preston shirt just once this season.
He was a second-half substitute in the 5-1 Carling Cup win over Morecambe, scoring with a header within seconds of coming on.
Shortly after that, former Preston and current Sheffield Wednesday manager Alan Irvine loaned him to Southampton for four months.
And within a few weeks of arriving back at Deepdale from his spell on the South Coast, Trotman came to Town.
