Morecambe head coach Jim Bentley has told BBC Sport he is angry with the deal that allowed Tom Barkhuizen to leave the club to join Preston North End.
The 23-year-old winger signed for Morecambe back in 2015 when he was released by local rivals Blackpool and soon became a star for the club. But while he would go on to score 17 goals in 60 appearances, his wages soon became an issue for the cash strapped club and they were forced to release him by mutual consent to make sure their finances didn’t decline even further.
Just a week later after this release, Preston signed Barkhuizen to a pre-contract deal which was completed when the transfer window opened, with the youngster signed a two-and-a-half deal with the Lilywhites. While Morecambe did get a compensation fee for this move, Bentley was still left frustrated as he believed that the men who handled this deal could have done it better.
He said: “Let’s not forget we’ve sold our best player who is now pulling up trees at Preston,”
“For me, the people who negotiated that deal could’ve done better.”
“Without going too in-depth because he could easily get a move again, there are certain things that I was unhappy with in that department.”
In recent weeks Barkhuizen has done very well for Preston having scored in his last two games, meaning more eyes have been on that deal to allow him to leave Morecambe. Now he will continue with his career at Deepdale when he plays against Lancashire rivals Blackburn Rovers.
