It was known for some time that Darikwa was the main target for Simon Grayosn this summer. Like with most targets the club tend to take a backseat and let things drift.
Preston made a formal approach some time ago and sources close to Chestefrield suggested that Darikwa had handed in a transfer request. Preston's valuation, unsurprisingly, was nowhere near that of Chesterfield.
After protratced negotiations Preston agreed the asking fee. By that time, Brentofrd, Burnley and Wigan had showed an itnerest in the right back. Preston met with Darikwa but then pulled out when they heard that Burnley had also had a similar bid accepted.
It is asusmed that Preston could not compete with any wages that Burnley would offer although the fee accepted for the sale by Chesterfield seem to be the same.
The fee was assumed to be in the region of £600,000. It is money that Preston have and clearly were willing to pay for Darikwa. He was identified as a target at the start of the summer so it is unclear why negotiations took so long which enabled other clubs to get into the race.
Whilst it seems obvious that Darikwa would choose a club offering a higher wage there are concerns that the club are simly incapable of tying up deals when transfer fees are involved.