Alexander will be joined at North End by his assistant, and former Preston team-mate, Chris Lucketti.

They return with the club second bottom of the Championship with four points from eight matches.

Bradford, who are top of League One after seven games, confirmed last Thursday that they had “reluctantly” allowed the former Scotland international to speak to the second tier club.

He took over at Valley Parade in November 2023 and won promotion from League Two in his first full season in charge.

They finished fourth in League One in 2025-26 before losing to Bolton Wanderers in the play-offs and have won five of their seven league games this campaign.

“They leave Bradford City in a much stronger position than the one they inherited, with firmer foundations in place for the club to continue moving forward,” chief executive Ryan Sparks told the club website., external

“They should be immensely proud of what they have achieved here.

“We will always be grateful for everything they have given the club, and hope our supporters will join us in wishing them and their families nothing but success for the future.”

Alexander, who had a brief caretaker spell in charge at Preston in 2011-12, has also had spells in charge of Fleetwood, Scunthorpe, Salford, Motherwell and MK Dons.

His first game as permanent Preston boss will be at home to Millwall on Saturday, 10 October.

Ezri Konsa and Nico O’Reilly are both doubts to play in England’s Nations League match against the Czech Republic on Tuesday night.

The pair were the only two members of the England squad to miss training on Monday morning, with the players following their own individual programmes.

Both played the full 90 minutes in England’s 3-2 loss to Spain on Saturday.

Manchester City’s O’Reilly started at left-back, a position he made his own during the World Cup, and his absence would open an opportunity for Lewis Hall to play.

It was O’Reilly’s mistake which led to Alex Baena drawing Spain level at 2-2 at Wembley before the World Cup winners went on to claim victory.

Arsenal centre-back Konsa has become one of Tuchel’s most trusted players and started seven of the eight matches at the World Cup.

Central defender Jarrad Branthwaite came on for Marc Guehi late on against Spain and could be a contender to start if Konsa is unavailable.

England play four matches in this international window and, after the loss to Spain, take on the Czech Republic both home and away, either side of travelling to Rijeka to play Croatia.