Preston midfielder Daniel Johnson will leave the club when his contract expires at the end of the month.

The Jamaica international had been in discussions over a new deal with the Deepdale club but has now told them that he wants a new challenge.

He has made more than 300 appearances and scored 57 goals since arriving from Aston Villa in 2015.

Manager Ryan Lowe told the club’s website: “We’re disappointed but DJ wants a new challenge.

“I had a fantastic relationship with DJ and all the players did and I’m sure all the fans did too, but sometimes people want fresh challenges and that’s what DJ’s told us he wants to do, and we have to respect that decision.

“It’s disappointing because of what he’s done here over the years and we’d have liked to have had a better send off for him, if this was going to be the case.

“We’ve been in dialogue with him for a long time regarding him staying. We’ve done everything we possibly can to keep him, but we wish DJ all the best as he moves on to a new venture.”

The 30-year-old helped Preston win promotion from League One after arriving midway through the 2014-15 season and has been a feature of their midfield during eight years of mostly midtable finishes in the Championship.

He has been capped eight times by Jamaica since making his debut in 2020.

Aston Villa forward Leon Bailey and Spartak Moscow striker Shamar Nicholson headline a 23-man squad named by the Jamaica Football Federation on Monday for the CONCACAF Nations League fixture between the Reggae Boyz and Mexico at the Azteca on March 26.

Bailey and Nicholson are two of a number of players who were not apart of the squad for the two friendlies against the Soca Warriors in Jamaica last week.

Defenders Damion Lowe, Amari’i Bell and Kemar Lawrence are also among those who have returned to the squad while regular skipper Andre Blake remains absent through injury.

The match will commence at 7:00pm JA time (8:00pm ET).

The full squad is as follows: Goalkeepers: Jahmali Waite (Pittsburgh Riverhounds), Coniah Boyce-Clarke (Reading), Amal Knight (Lexington), Defenders: Amari’i Bell (Luton Town), Ethan Pinnock (Brentford), Dexter Lembikisa (Wolves), Adrian Mariappa (Unattached), Damion Lowe (Philadelphia Union), Richard King (Cavalier), Javain Brown (Vancouver Whitecaps), Kemar Lawrence (Minnesota United), Midfielders: Jonathan Russell (Barnsley), Bobby Reid (Fulham), Demario Phillips (Mt. Pleasant), Kevon Lambert (Phoenix Rising), Daniel Johnson (Preston North End), Ravel Morrison (DC United), Kaheem Parris (Dynamo Kyiv), Forwards: Jamal Lowe (Bournemouth), Cory Burke (NY Red Bulls), Trivante Stewart (Mt. Pleasant), Shamar Nicholson (Spartak Moscow), Leon Bailey (Aston Villa)

Jamaica international and Preston North End midfielder Daniel Johnson has reflected positively on his time at the CONCACAF Gold Cup and believes it was good background preparation for the upcoming English Championship season.

The 28-year-old was part of the Jamaica Reggae Boyz squad that bowed out of the competition following a 1-0 loss to the United States in the quarterfinals.  Johnson, who made his debut last year in a 3-0 loss to Saudi Arabia, played all four games for the team at the tournament and was named Jamaica’s man-of-match against Costa Rica.

“It was my first experience of a tournament and was lovely to be part of.  It was a different experience playing against international players and the games had a different feel than league games over here,” Johnson told the Lancashire Post.

“The first two games in the group which we won against Suriname and Guadeloupe, we controlled.  In terms of building up my fitness ready for this season, the tournament was brilliant,” he added.

 “I played 90 minutes in the first two games, 85 in the third, and then 90 minutes in the quarter-finals. That was a big boost having missed the back end of last season.”

Preston will kick off its English Football League (EFL) against Reading on Saturday.