Sam Johnstone spent the best part of the second half of last season on loan at Preston. The young keeper is a Pretson fan and wanted to remain at the club beyond the end of the season.
It was rumoured that Preston ahd reached an agreement with United to sign the keper should Preston be promoted and thus having the funds to pay for any transfer fee.
It emerged that Preston did have an agreement for Johnstone to return but due to United being unsure on whether number one keeper De Gea would be staying or not they opted to retain Johnstone for pre-season.
Matters are further complictaed with United efefctively syaing that thier number two keeper Victor Valdes is no longer wanted and is up for sale for the highest bidder. This means that Johnstone has played the first two games on United's pre-season tour.
It is unclear when the goalkeeping situation in Manchester will resolve with United in pursuit of Madrid's Ramos in a otential swap deal for De Gea. The situation with Valdes is also less than clear.
Johnstone has said that he does want to return but any deal will now only be a loan deal potentially sensing that he might be able to make his way up the Old Trafford pecking order if there are two departures.
Whislt Preston are keen to wait they know only too well that they cannot leave it too late. Last season they acted sharply in buying Jamie Jones instead of waiting for news on Declan Rudd. This has not turned out to be the best of business although Jones has featured well in pre-season.