Millwall to beat Preston North End to 'fantastic' Championship transfer in Deadline Day coup

Millwall are poised to beat Championship rivals Preston North End to the signing of Middlesbrough striker Josh Coburn on Deadline Day in a move that will be music to the ears of head coach Neil Harris.

The Lions had seen their forward options depleted this week with Kevin Nisbet heading on loan to Aberdeen and Tom Bradshaw picking up a serious hamstring injury. That left Millwall in need of reinforcements and determined transfer efforts could see them outmuscle Paul Heckingbottom's Preston North End to strike a deal with Boro.

The Northern Echo reports that Millwall are now frontrunners to sign Coburn on loan having made the 21-year-old a 'leading transfer target'. It had been thought that the striker would leave the Riverside Stadium on a permanent transfer but a loan deal is now most likely with just hours left of the window.

Millwall held last-minute talks with Middlesbrough on Thursday night, when it is believed that the fatal blow was landed to Preston hopes of signing the former Sunderland youth man.

Coburn has been afforded just five minutes in the league this season by Michael Carrick but has had run outs in both Carabao Cup matches, scoring and assisting against Leeds United in the first round earlier this month - the forward was hailed as 'fantastic' by his boss for that performance. The player made 25 appearances in all competitions last season and bagged five goals.

When asked about Coburn on Thursday, Carrick said: "There's plenty of interest in Josh and plenty of teams would love to have him but from my point of view nothing has changed as yet. What I will say, it's not just Josh, it's alright me sitting here now, but there's still more than a day to go - and a lot can change.

"Some things can come out from nowhere, but I'm calm with the way it's going and our decisions are being made for the right reasons and we'll hopefully come out better for it."