PNE signed the Plymouth Argyle defender for a reported fee in excess of £1.5million

Lewis Gibson will have to wait a little bit longer to potentially pull on a Preston North End shirt for the first time - but it’s been a positive first week with the Lilywhites.

Saturday’s third round FA Cup clash against Charlton Athletic has been postponed and rearranged for Tuesday night, so Gibson’s debut looks set to come under the Deepdale lights. He had missed the last Plymouth Argyle game due to a dead leg but PNE’s medical staff gave him the all clear and the 24-year-old has a full week of training in the tank.

It has not taken the defender long to feel at home, either. A few familiar faces - Jordan Storey, Josh Bowler and Freddie Woodman - and a fellow Magpie in Brad Potts made his welcome a warm one. Gibson spent last Saturday morning training with fellow Geordie, Potts, prior to heading to Deepdale to watch the Oxford United clash.

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Being back up north is simply an added bonus for the Durham-born man. Gibson’s professionalism and dedication to his career - as well as ambition - comes across instantly and he was keen to stress that signing for Preston was purely a football decision. He’s ready to get going, feels his game is in a good place and wants to play a central role in helping PNE push towards the higher reaches of the division.

“It's a really, really good group,” Gibson told the Lancashire Post. “I get a really good vibe off the players here. They made me feel really settled in the first few days I'd been here. A hard-working group as well, which is always a positive thing. The last two years have been massive (for me). Probably the last year-and-a-half, almost, of really making my stand in the league.

“Massive thanks to Plymouth for that opportunity, again. I think now I'm more than ready - more than I ever have been to make the next step. It’s a really tough league. You look at the teams in the league now and probably 90% of them, 85% of them have already been in the Premier League before. But yeah, that's why I made the next step here, to go and compete in that top 10, top eight area.

“I think we're ready to probably try and make the next step. I am as a player. That's my goal. That's always been my end goal - to play in the Premier League - and that will always be until the day I finish. I've played most of the last 18 months, generally, in a back four. But yeah, I've obviously flirted with the back three towards the end of last season.

“I'm quite comfortable in all those positions and I think that helps the longer the season goes on. And also, I think the manager here likes to keep opposition guessing which is always a good thing - because if you can play two or three positions, that's key to being involved all the time. Ever since I really spoke to him, my mind was kind of made up.

“I knew the detail that he would have gone into and when we had a chat for maybe an hour or so, we went into detail of where I see myself and where he sees me fitting in. So yeah, the decision was quite easy. He's got massive experience in the jobs that he's been in before. I thought this was the best opportunity for me to progress. There's five months left of the season to finish strong and to take that momentum into the next season as well.”