Hearts keen to sign pacey Preston winger Josh Ginnelly

Winger Josh Ginnelly is interesting Hearts. Pic: Getty Images

Hearts are keen to sign the Preston North End winger Josh Ginnelly, the Evening News can reveal.

Wide players are a priority for the Edinburgh club this season and the 23-year-old’s lightning pace is something they want to add to the squad.

Hearts officials have monitored him for some time and he arrived in Edinburgh today ahead of a proposed loan switch to Tynecastle Park.

Ginnelly’s Preston contract runs until summer 2021 but he is not in the first-team plans at Deepdale.

Ginnelly can play on both flanks and likes to utilise his speed by running at defenders to get in behind and create scoring chances.

He is a former Aston Villa youth player who spent three years on the books at Burnley between 2015 and 2018. During that period, he had spells on loan at Altrincham, Walsall, Lincoln City and Tranmere Rovers before joining Walsall permanently in summer 2018.

He moved to Preston in January 2019 for a fee in the region of £50,000 and was then loaned out to Bristol Rovers earlier this year. If Hearts get their way, Ginnelly could be set for his first venture into Scottish football.

Hearts have already signed two English wingers on permanent contracts in Jordan Roberts and Elliott Frear. Goalkeeper Craig Gordon also arrived, plus Ross Stewart completed a loan move from Livingston.

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