Where are they now? The 12 players who left Preston North End last summer as Man City star in form

International breaks always offer the chance to escape from the intense Championship calendar and look beyond match day.

Preston North End's squad changed a lot over the summer transfer window and the Lilywhites are going along nicely, with Ryan Lowe's side fifth in the table after 16 games. But, how are those who moved on in the summer getting on, away from Deepdale?

Four loan spells came to an end following the conclusion of the 2022/23 campaign, in which Preston finished 12th. Two players did not sign new contracts upon the expiry of their deals, while one was sold and five were released by PNE.

Starting with the loan quartet, it is looking like third time lucky in the Championship for Liam Delap - who endured a tough time at Stoke City and struggled to live up to the hype in Preston colours, despite some promising early signs. Now, though, he is a regular for eighth placed Hull City and has five goals in 16 appearances for the Tigers.

Tom Cannon, after Preston's long summer pursuit ended in disappointment, is yet to debut for Leicester City. The £7.5million signing arrived at the King Power Stadium with a stress fracture in his back, but is now said to be closing in on his first appearance for the high flying Foxes.

Alvaro Fernandez and Troy Parrott both secured loan moves overseas, with the Manchester United defender going to Granada - while Spurs' striker headed to Eredivisie outfit Excelsior Rotterdam. Both are playing week-in-week-out for their respective clubs, with Parrott scoring three goals - one of which was a last minute derby winner. Fernandez made a fine start to life in La Liga, but Granada are struggling as a team - sitting in 19th spot.

Back to the Championship and former PNE stalwart Daniel Johnson has been in the Stoke City side regularly. Working under Alex Neil again, early results were tough but the Potters went into the international break five unbeaten. As for Johnson, he has one goal and a couple of assists to his name from 16 league outings.

If things are looking up for Johnson, former North End man Bambo Diaby has not had a great time since signing for Sheffield Wednesday. The man who brought him to Hillsborough, Xisco Munoz, has departed and Diaby's last game against Millwall did not go well. His individual stats do not reflect too badly, but Wednesday are rock bottom of the table with just one win in 16. There have been a few bruising score lines, too.

A couple of players remain without clubs - and in Josh Onomah's case that is a sorry situation given the clear talent he has. Onomah was offered fresh terms at PNE, but negotiations were frustratingly dragged out and North End eventually pulled the plug. He was then training with Stoke and featured in pre-season games, but nothing ever came of that. January may be a time for the ex-Fulham man to find a club, so too with Matthew Olosunde - who is still a free agent.

As for the four young players let go by Preston, Aaron Bennett signed for National League North side Warrington Town in August and has been playing for the Yellows all campaign. Dana Amaral is with North West Counties Premier Division outfit Skelmersdale United, while Harry Nevin returned to Ireland to sign for Waterford FC. Fellow defender Lewis Coulton plays for Northern Premier Division team Atherton Collieries.