Preston boss tight-lipped on interest in Oxford United star Stan Mills

The Oxford United winger has been the subject of interest from Heckingbottom’s side ahead of the beginning of the new EFL season.

Aaron Ramsey’s Yellows begin their League One campaign this Saturday at home to newly-promoted MK Dons after a summer of chaos.

The U’s swapped former head coach Matt Bloomfield for ex-Arsenal man Ramsey before being hit with a temporary transfer embargo for failing to comply with Squad Cost Management Protocol regulations (SCMP).

With Oxford unable to register any new players as replacements for potential sales, the club has insisted that they will keep hold of the current crop of players until they are able to make signings in January.

U’s winger Mills takes on Preston North End defender (Image: Jason Dawson)

This has not stopped interest from elsewhere, though, with Preston reportedly pushing to sign last season’s Player of the Season, Mills.

When asked in a recent press conference about the Lilywhites’ interest in the United winger, Heckingbottom said: “He’s not our player.

“I don’t talk about other clubs’ players. He’s not our player, that’s it.

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Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom (Image: Martin Rickett/PA Wire)

“I think if you asked me about him, I’d be comfortable speaking to you about him off record in terms of what I think of him as a lad and a player and what I see from him, but no, not our player, nothing there.

“Will he be with us before the end of the window in terms of us being able to do a deal with him?

“I wouldn’t know until there’s anything to say, it’s pointless speaking.”