Clubs strike a deal which says North End cannot contact any of Boro’s squad during January

Stevenage have struck a deal with Preston North End which states that the Lilywhites are not allowed to contact any of Boro’s players during the January transfer window.

The covenant between the two sides is part of the deal which saw Graham Westley join North End as manager on Friday evening.

Some Stevenage fans were concerned that Westley would return during this transfer window to poach the cream of Stevenage’s playing staff as he looked to turn around the fortunes of the Deepdale side, but Boro chairman Phil Wallace has said the Lancashire club have agreed to stay away until at least the summer.

Wallace told his club’s website: “In the end we’ve secured the deal we wanted and included within that agreement is a covenant that none of our players can be contacted by anyone at Preston until after the season has ended.

“Fundamentally we are not a selling club anyway - we have no need of transfer funds to remain solvent and I prefer to build, improve and invest into our team over time not weaken it - so unless an approach for one of our players would give them a life changing income from a huge club at a higher level, we will ignore any approaches for any of our lads and continue to focus on winning games and moving up the football pyramid.”