McKenna made his Preston debut in 1997

Nottingham Forest have finally agreed a fee of £750,000 for Preston North End midfielder Paul McKenna.

Reds boss Billy Davies, McKenna's Preston manager for two years, has been a long-term admirer of the 31-year-old and has tracked him all summer.

The Lilywhites had turned down three offers from the Reds over two months.

McKenna, who has played 469 times for North End since joining North End as a 14-year-old, is expected in Nottingham on Thursday to discuss personal terms.

Preston boss Alan Irvine said McKenna's departure would be a big loss, if his transfer to Forest goes through.

Paul's been a fantastic servant to this club. He'll be a big miss there's no question about that Alan Irvine

"I'm disappointed," he told BBC Radio Lancashire. "Everybody knows that we have refused several bids from Nottingham Forest.

"I'm disappointed that they have eventually come up with the figure which was deemed to be acceptable but we have to move on.

"Paul's been a fantastic servant to this club. He'll be a big miss there's no question about that. We have to now strengthen our squad and try and cope with the loss of Paul."

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