Lewis Neal arrived from Stoke City in a swap deal which took Marlon Broomes to the Britannia Stadium and he signed a three-year deal with an option for a further year.

The left-sided midfielder came through the ranks at Stoke, going on to make over 80 appearances since making his debut back in 2000, during the LDV Vans Trophy campaign.

In his first season Lewis made 29 appearances, scoring two goals, the first in the 5-1 drubbing of Luton before grabbing the opener in the 2-0 win over Wolves.

Last season, the winger was mostly used as a substitute, but he still made 26 appearances and scored the final goal in the 4-1 win over Leeds at Deepdale.

After initially being overlooked for much of the start of the 2007/08 season, Neal broke into the side under Alan Irvine and contributed a last minute winner in North End's 1-0 away win at Southampton.