PRESTON North End hope to take advantage of Middlesbrough’s return to the Premier League by landing Adam Reach before the start of next season.

Reach is still under contract at the Riverside Stadium until the summer of 2019, but promotion to the top-flight means Aitor Karanka is looking to strengthen this summer.

And, while there have been no indications that the 23-year-old will be allowed to leave Boro, Preston boss Simon Grayson would like to have him back at Deepdale.

Karanka allowed him to move on loan last September and the Preston boss said: “We will sit down with them (loan players) and their parent clubs in due course. They are other clubs’ players so we are in their hands with these lads.

“There will be players, either on loan or contracted to us, who will leave the club and others will come in. We are always working towards improving things - that is an ongoing process.”

Reach started 35 times in the Championship under Grayson and scored four goals to help Preston finish mid-table in the first season after going up from League One.

The 23-year-old, a product of Boro's academy system, has previously had loan stints with Bradford, Shrewsbury and Darlington, but Karanka has used him more regularly last season.

Preston could try to sign him permanently although a further loan deal would seem more likely if Reach will not be involved in the opening few weekends of the Premier League season.

Reach has played 63 times in the league for Boro and scored six goals. The arrivals of Stewart Downing, Carlos de Pena and Gaston Ramirez over the course of the last nine months forced him down the pecking order.

Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson has openly admitted that he will be backing Karanka on the transfer front before the start of next season and he has already been linked with West Brom’s James Morrison and Stoke’s Jon Walters.

There is interest in Boro’s key players, but promotion has strengthened Karanka’s hand in keeping those he wants.

Daniel Ayala, the Spanish defender, was outstanding for the majority of the season before injury knocked him back and he caught the eye of top-flight clubs.

Middlesbrough will not want to lose the former Liverpool and Norwich defender, though, and he has been nominated for the Sky Bet Championship PFA Fans’ Player of the Season.

Other nominations are Burnley’s Andre Gray and Sam Vokes, Fulham’s former Boro target Ross McCormack, Sheffield Wednesday’s Fernando Forestieri and Brentford’s Alan Judge.

Former Middlesbrough and Darlington forward Curtis Main has been made available by Doncaster. He is still under contract at the Keepmoat Stadium but can now leave.