Preston North End boss Alan Irvine has joined the race to sign Sunderland striker Anthony Stokes on a season-long loan deal.Sunderland boss Roy Keane is keen to keep hold of Stokes but realises the player's chances will be limited following the arrivals of El Hadj Diouf, Djibril Cisse and David Healey.
To allow the youngster to gain experience Keane is willing to let Stokes join another club on loan and feels he is ready to play at Championship level.
He told the News of the World: "Anthony would benefit from going out and getting 20 games. He's good enough to go and play in the Championship."
Preston will face a difficult task in securing Stokes' services though, with Sheffield Wednesday, Leeds United and Plymouth Argyle all hoping to add Stokes to their squad for the rest of the campaign.
