Why Ryan Lowe thinks Preston North End have been ‘lucky’ with likable summer signing

Preston North End manager Ryan Lowe is loving working with deadline day signing Milutin Osmajic - and believes the Lilywhites are lucky to have him in the building.

The Montenegrin striker was signed on the final day of the summer transfer window, for a club record fee. Osmajic arrived from Spanish top flight side Cadiz and scored his first goal for PNE in his second appearance - at home to Birmingham City. The 24-year-old has started the last three matches for North End and impressed at Rotherham United in the last outing.

Osmajic has had the language barrier to tackle in his early days at Deepdale, with Preston bringing a translator in house to help Lowe, his coaching staff and the player. North End’s manager sees his new man’s English improving every day and is impressed with the way Osmajic has settled into life at the club.

“We threw him in and that was probably the best thing for him, to go straight in and hit the ground running,” said Lowe. “He has gone in and performed really well. We’ve got to make sure we do the right things with him. We thought the English barrier would be a little bit of a problem, but it hasn’t been. He has told me to give him a couple more weeks and he will be full English! He understands everything we say to him; he just can’t get the words out himself.

“Felipe (Rodriguez-Gentile) is back in the building with us, so that’ll certainly help. But no, he’s been terrific the big man. He has been excellent. I spoke to him on Sunday and he said how welcomed he has been by everyone. Over in Cadiz and Spain it is a bit different; maybe it is not like that. But, when you are in here, we are like a big family. It is not just me, myself and I. The lads have been terrific with him and they love him. He does understand a lot of stuff, but he does shake his head a lot of the time as well.

“The lads have taken to him well and he has taken to the lads, so that’s the more important than anything I think really. His off the field stuff, he is getting settled now. He’s got a house, he’s got a car and he’s really finding his feet. I think he has started the campaign really well and if you ask him he probably thinks he should be on four goals! But no, the goals will come. He is better than I thought he would be - his attitude and the way he is, is brilliant.

“He is funny, he is bubbly and he has always got a smile on his face. Coming over from another country is always tough, isn’t it? But he has been just like a duck to water, so long may that continue. Again, that is down to the players. They have taken him right under their wing and made sure he is alright. I know a lot of the fans have when they’ve seen him about and he’s loving it. His football, we knew everything about, inside and out. We knew his application was good, but we didn’t know what type of character he was.

“He is a top, top character and he is a funny character. So, once he learns a bit more English I am sure you guys will have a little bit of a laugh and a joke with him. He is very loving and very bubbly; you cannot buy them. That is one thing we look at all the time, so we’ve got a little bit lucky in that sense. Not with the football and the identification on him, but more with his camaraderie and the way he is. He’s a really good, top character yeah.”