New Preston North End signing Patrick Bauer can settle in quickly thanks to familiar faces

The centre-half, who was signed on a Bosman last week from Charlton Athletic, was a team-mate at The Valley of North End keepers Declan Rudd and Chris Maxwell.

So it will not quite be a full room of strangers when he starts pre-season training at Springfields.

Bauer told the Lancashire Post: “It will be nice to meet everyone, that is one of the exciting parts of moving to a new club.

“There are two players at Preston who I played with for Charlton.

“Chris Maxwell was on loan there for part of last season so I know him well, and Declan Rudd was on loan two or three years ago. So that is two people I know and it will be very good to meet the other players.”

North End had tracked Bauer’s progress for a while before doing the deal to bring him to Deepdale.

He left Charlton on a high, scoring their winning goal in the League One play-off last month against Sunderland with virtually the last kick of the game.

That was his last touch of the ball as an Addicks player and was some way to end his time in South London.

Said Bauer: “I knew that Preston were monitoring me for a long period of time.

“I was still very focused on Charlton, the play-offs and getting promoted, nothing distracted me from that.

“After the season ended I spoke with Alex Neil and he gave me a very good feeling about Preston.

“He is very ambitions and the club are ambitious.

“They are planning ahead and that is what I really liked when I spoke with him.

“I’ve left Charlton on good terms – I loved my four years with them.

“If there was an ideal 
scenario to leave a club where I had spent four seasons it 
was by scoring the winning goal at Wembley right at the end.

“When I put the ball in the net that was my last touch for Charlton.”

Bauer and his wife are due in Preston early in the week to do some house hunting and will have a new arrival with them – their baby daughter.

Her appearance into the world last month made for a busy day for Bauer.

The 26-year-old defender said: “She was born on the same day Charlton played Doncaster in the second leg of the play-off semi-final.

“In the morning I went with my wife to hospital and she gave birth to our daughter that afternoon.

“I had time just about to get home, have a shower and then report for the game.

“It was a very special day for myself and my family.”