Preston North End are pushing forward to sign Oxford United winger Stanley Mills for £2 million, as they look to replace Lewis Dobbin. The 22-year-old was a key player in Oxford's failed battle to avoid relegation to League One last season, playing in all but three of their league matches and providing three goals and four assists. According to Alan Nixon, Paul Heckingbottom is gearing up for a final push to get a deal over the line, with a reported £2 million offer with additional appearance fees on the cards. This matches a previous estimate reported by Nixon back in July, with it being stated that a deal would enable the Lilywhites to enact a formation change heading into their Championship season. While both clubs are still 'haggling' over a final price, it is believed that Mills has become unsettled and Oxford may now be open to accepting the offer that Preston hand them. Heckingbottom has tinkered with his setup towards the end of last season, deploying both a 3-5-2 and a 4-3-3 formation, and entered this season using a 3-4-3 during their EFL Cup first-round victory over Huddersfield Town. Mills was a key player in Oxford's failed battle to avoid relegation to League One, playing in all but three of their league matches last season, providing three goals and four assists. He has had a disrupted pre-season campaign due to fitness issues, and missed out completely in Aaron Ramsey's debut U's squad as they fell to defeat away from home against Leyton Orient in the cup. League standing (final 2025 table -- new season not yet under way): 14th in Championship, 60 pts, 15W-15D-16L from 46 games, recent form LWLLW. Goals this season: 55 scored, 62 conceded (-7 goal difference). Title race: 35 points behind leaders Coventry. Next fixture: vs Birmingham (at home, 2027-02-16) (10th in the table).