Preston North End are on the verge of appointing Bradford City manager Graham Alexander as their new head coach, according to BBC Radio Leeds.

Bradford confirmed in a statement on Thursday that they had "reluctantly" granted the 54-year-old permission to hold talks with the struggling Championship club. Alexander is currently contracted at Valley Parade until the end of next season.

A club where Alexander has deep roots

The move carries significant sentiment — Alexander made 372 league appearances for Preston across two separate stints as a player at Deepdale. The former Scotland international is now set to return in the dugout.

He took charge at Bradford in November 2023 and wasted little time making an impact, winning promotion from League Two in his first full season. The Bantams then finished fourth in League One in 2025-26, though they fell to Bolton Wanderers in the play-offs.

This season, Alexander has Bradford flying at the top of League One — five wins from their opening seven games — making his departure all the more difficult for the Yorkshire club to accept.

North End in desperate need of a lift

Preston's need is urgent. The Lilywhites sit second bottom of the Championship after sacking Paul Heckingbottom earlier this month, following a dismal run of six defeats in their first seven league matches.

Before his time at Bradford, Alexander managed Fleetwood, Scunthorpe, Salford, Motherwell, and MK Dons, building a reputation as a dependable and development-focused coach in the English football pyramid.

Preston return to action against Millwall on Saturday, 10 October — their first fixture after the international break. Bradford, meanwhile, face Reading in their next League One match on 3 October, with their weekend game against Barnsley postponed due to international call-ups.