Preston North End's pre-season friendly with Barcelona has been cancelled at the 11th hour, with the Championship side set to face the Spanish giants in a behind-closed-doors match at St. George's Park.
But according to Spanish outlet Mundo Deportivo, Preston have too many players unavailable. In fact, Preston were planning to field a team of Under-21 players for the game because they had so many absentees, the report claims.
SunSport understands Preston had a squad for the game but it was down to the bare bones after a few knocks in their friendly defeat to Stockport County. Preston take on Huddersfield Town in the League Cup in the coming days and were not willing to risk further injuries as a result. According to talkSPORT, And Hansi Flick's side are also said to now be flying back to Spain earlier than scheduled due to the cancellation.
Hansi Flick‘s men are still waiting for a number of their senior stars to return to the squad after winning the World Cup with Spain. The likes of Lamine Yamal, Eric Garcia, Pau Cubarsi, Gavi, Pedri and World Cup winning hero Ferran Torres are still taking an extended break. But Flick played an experimental side against Birmingham as they drew 2-2 with the Midlands outfit on Friday.
Barca were beaten 3-2 on penalties by Chris Davies' Blues after a 2-2 draw in normal time at St. Andrews. Real Madrid and England superstar Jude Bellingham watched on from the stands as his club rivals lost. Their only other pre-season clash so far came against lower-league Spanish side Europa, beating them 4-1.
Reporting: The Sun, Mirror, talkSPORT.