'Texted him straight away!' - Preston North End boss details the boost of Watford transfer swoop

Preston North End manager Paul Heckingbottom believes he’s added the ‘perfect’ defender to his squad after injury to Jordan Storey.

That, of course, is deadline day loan recruit Ryan Porteous - who made the move from Watford on Monday. The Scotland international will have to wait until next week to make his debut with Porteous cup-tied for this weekend’s match against Wycombe Wanderers.

First team regular Storey is set for an extended spell on the sidelines and after learning that news, Preston moved quickly to get Porteous in the building.

He has featured regularly for the Hornets again this campaign and Heckingbottom sees the 25-year-old as a ready-made replacement for his number 14. The pair briefly worked together at Hibernian and Porteous is someone PNE’s boss has kept an eye on ever since.

“He had a knee injury so we got him back towards the back end of my time there, yeah,” said Heckingbottom. “I'd already seen a big part of what he was about; we just managed to get him back for the last couple of months I was there. He wants to win. He's a personality that, whether he trains or plays on the pitch, gives his best.

“He can chip in with a goal. He's better than people think technically and in that attacking third especially, he's got a real instinct for a goal as well, which will help us. He's a good player to have; a good type to have. I think he fits into what we're about, which is great. I know him as a lad and his personality... they'll like him. I think we suit him as much as he suits us.”

It’s a straight loan deal for Porteous until the end of the season and conversations regarding the summer have not taken place according to the North End manager. Porteous is known for his aggression and big tackles - two traits Heckingbottom is glad to have added to his ranks.

“Yes, sometimes he has to calm down a little bit but you don't want to take that out of him,” said Heckingbottom. “We want to be aggressive. He'll certainly enjoy how we play, take the ball all the time and he'll be fine here... he'll settle in well. We've not even discussed it (beyond this season), me or Ryan.

“Not one little bit. Literally, it was about us all of a sudden needing someone in that position. His name got brought up. I texted him straight away, he said he’d love to and that he’d just found out himself that he was available. It was just one of those but yeah, who knows?”

“It’s a big, big thing.”

Character is something the PNE chief highlighted in all three of his mid-season recruits: Porteous, Jayden Meghoma and Lewis Gibson. It is a massive deal for the Preston boss and something that will be factored in with any new addition.

“Personality on the pitch is everything,” said Heckingbottom. “To be able to win, to carry out your role in the team in your way and just be as effective as you possibly can on the pitch. When things are going well, it's easy to play.

“But when they're not, or when the game's finely balanced, who has got that personality to tip the scales in your favour? It's really, really important. We worked on that all the time (at Sheffield United).

“Signings, how we behave as staff, that type of thing. Yeah, it's big to create a culture that wants to win and then people go and deliver that all the time. It's a big, big thing.”