Preston North End set to beat Derby County & QPR to 20-cap international midfielder in £600k deal | OneFootball

North End appear to have beaten fellow Championship clubs to the signing of Stefan Teitur Thordarson.

Preston North End have beaten Derby County and Queens Park Rangers to the signing of Icelandic international Stefán Teitur Thórdarson.

That is according to Danish publication Tipsbladet, who claim that the 25-year-old midfielder, who has amassed 20 caps for the Iceland national team over his career, is set to turn down the advances of multiple second tier sides in England to link up with the Lilywhites.

Standing comfortably over six-feet tall, Silkeborg player Thórdarson had been linked with a move to Derby County this summer, with QPR also being credited with an interest in the attack-minded midfielder.

In fact, it was only this week that Danish sports news outlet Tipsbladet reported that Thórdarson was travelling to England on Sunday to undertake a medical with the R's, but now only half of that statement appears true.

According to Tipsbladet, Preston are set to fend off interest from their Championship opposition to sign Thórdarson this summer, with the Icelander choosing Deepdale as his preferred destination over Loftus Road and Pride Park.

They report that the former IA Akranes attacker will travel to England on Sunday, before undertaking a medical with North End, followed by him putting pen to paper on his contract with the club in a £600,000 (€700,000) deal, as revealed by journalist Farzam Abolhosseini.

Silkeborg appear ready to cash in on the 20-cap Iceland international now, as this summer will mark the last opportunity they have to receive a transfer fee for the big man, as his contract expires in December of this year.

A versatile player who primarily plays as an 'eight' or in an attacking midfield role, whilst also capable of playing out wide too, Thórdarson was able to show Preston fans a glimpse of what he can do when he came off the bench for a 25-minute cameo in Iceland's 1-0 victory over England back in early June.

After playing the first five seasons of his senior career in Iceland with IA Akranes, Thórdarson moved to Denmark in 2020 to sign for Silkeborg, where he has been ever since, and after netting 11 times in all competitions last season, he now looks to be on the move to England.

Stefán Teitur Thórdarson would add imposing presence to Preston's midfield

Should Preston secure a deal for Thordarson, they may well be getting the best version of the Iceland star.

That is because 2023/24 was the tall attacking midfielder's best individual season in a Silkeborg shirt to date, with 11 goals in 36 total appearances for the Danish outfit.

Scoring goals wasn't a huge problem for North End last season (56), but it certainly wasn't a strength of Ryan Lowe's side either, with Will Keane's 13 Championship goals being enough to crown him top scorer.

Mads Frokjaer-Jensen was the club's predominant number 10 in 2023/24, but Lowe did experiment with Keane in that position too at times with two attacking midfielders playing behind a striker.

Frokjaer-Jensen had a respectable season in a Lilywhites shirt, scoring three times and providing eight assists in the second tier, but the addition of Thordarson could help form a real imposing duo in attacking midfield.

Thordarson can also operate as a traditional central midfielder too, however, and Lowe may well be thinking of deploying him rather than in a more advanced role, as the club look to source a replacement for the outgoing Alan Browne.

It remains to be seen where the Preston boss sees Thordarson fitting into his squad, but the Icelander will no doubt bring a versatile midfield option to North End's engine room, in what could be a really smart piece of business by the club.