After agreeing a three-year deal with PNE, effective from the end of July, new signing Sean Maguire was delighted to get the deal done.
Maguire will join North End at the end of next month from League of Ireland leaders Cork City, after an impressive spell with the club.
On the move, the striker told PNE.Com: "I'm absolutely over the moon, the club has shown an interest in me for a while now and so it's great to get it done. Seeing Andy Boyle and Daryl Horgan come over and making such a big impact and doing unbelievably well, getting straight into the national team is something that I will be aiming for once I get over there.
The 23-year-old joins a number of fellow Irishmen at Deepdale, and admits that the Irish contingent at North End was one of the reasons he chose PNE.
"It's a no brainer really for me, obviously having the Irish fellas over there in Preston already it's a big help for me and will help me settle in and I really can't wait to get going.
"It's crazy how many Irish players there are at the club so it will be a big help to have some familiar faces around when I go into a dressing room where I don't really know my surroundings and with a group of players I'm not familiar with. There will be a couple of lads in there that I know quite well, obviously Andy and Daryl and then there are a couple of Irish lads that I've never met before and then there's Alan Browne who I have been good mates with for a couple of years now. I've been in a couple of Irish squads with him and so it's great and it will really help me settle in.
"I can't wait to get going now, I'm looking forward to meeting all of the lads and hopefully progressing on where the club finished last year. The team finished in the top half of the table last season so we will want to be pushing for the Play-Offs this season.
The club's ambitions for next season were also a big factor in the striker's move, he continued: "There has been quite a bit of interest with how it's gone so far this season and following on from last season but I suppose there's a couple of reasons I thought Preston North End was the right choice.
"As I've said there's a couple of Irish lads but I was on loan at Accrington Stanley a couple of years ago and I've actually been to a couple of game at Deepdale and seeing how good the atmosphere is at the stadium when there is a big game, the fans are very passionate and that really helps the players and it's always nice to have the incredible fans there to push the players so that was another reason.
"I obviously spoke with people at the club and I saw what the club's ambitions are for next season and that's only to get promoted to the Premier League and hopefully I can bring goals and assists to help the team and hopefully help the team climb that table and progress and take the club to where it belongs which is the Premier League.
Maguire certainly knows where the net is, scoring 19 goals in 20 games this season, and scored 29 goals in 2016. For those who may not have seen the striker play, he told us what the North End fans can expect to see from him.
"I bring goals, that's shown by my record over the last couple of seasons, I'm more of a poacher, I score a lot of goals inside of the box, I've only scored a few outside the box.
"I'm a hard worker, I'm a grafter, for a small fella I can actually jump pretty high and I win a lot of headers, so that adds to the problem for defenders and I will always work hard for my teammates.
"I'm always sniffing out mistakes in the oppositions half looking to score goals and you will always get 100 per cent from me, you will never get anything below that and I am really looking forward to stepping out on to that pitch and pulling on that Preston North End jersey.
"It's a great chance to prove myself in England, I was at Accrington Stanley and I played 30 games for them and scored a couple of goals but I felt that there was a lot more in me.
"I feel I have plenty of goals in my game and what better place to bring that than to Preston North End in the Championship. I have scored a lot of goals in the Irish league, it's a great standard but I think it's time for me to now step up to another level and I think I can step up and bring a lot to this team and help it move forward.
Maguire is following in the footsteps of Andy Boyle and Daryl Horgan who made the move to Deepdale from the League of Ireland last season. Both players have already made an impact at Deepdale, and the former West Ham youngster is looking to do the same.
"It's brilliant for the two boys, I didn't fear them going over there and not getting into the team because they are two great fellas and even better players, they were playing in Europe for Dundalk. it took Andy a while to get his first start, it took a couple of months but it's always going to be harder for a centre half than a winger like Daryl.
"They have both stepped up to the plate and obviously got their Irish caps and they are regulars in the squad now and that is the level that I am going to be pushing for. I will work my socks off in training, make a good impression with the manager in training, and then get myself into the team and work hard to get to that level."
The striker picked up a number of awards at the end of last season, and Maguire feels he has now stepped up another level, his goals helping Cork to a 18 point lead ahead of second place Dundalk in the SSE Airtricity League.
On his time with City, Maguire said: "It's been fantastic at Cork, we lost out in the league last year to Dundalk which was frustrating but winning the Young Player of the Year award for the league and scoring the winning goal in the FAI Cup was incredible. It was a great year and this year I feel like I have stepped it up to a new level, I've scored lot of goals and my form has been very good which I'm very happy about.
"There is areas I need to improve on though and getting the opportunity to play for a massive club with brilliant history will help me do that.
"Hopefully I can bring a lot more to the table, and I am just really looking forward to it now.
The frontman will continue to play for John Caulfield's side until he completes his move at the end of July, and insists he will be giving nothing less than 100 per cent for the team and wants to end his time there on a high.
"There has been a lot of talk over the last couple of months with a lot of interest from England but I haven't let it effect my game and I won't let it effect my game over the next couple of months.
"I won't be joining PNE until the end of July and I will be giving 100 per cent to Cork City and hopefully I can leave the club in a really strong position in the league.
"There are a couple of games in the Europa league as well so I will be aiming to do well for Cork in that time and then arrive at the club in good shape and good goalscoring form."