CRAIG Beattie has joined Championship rivals Preston on loan until the end of the season.

The Scotland striker has been handed the Lilywhites' No.10 shirt and goes straight into Alan Irvine's squad for their game at Leicester City tonight (ko 7.45pm).

The Baggies have a 24-hour recall option on Beattie after the first 28 days of the loan.

The former Celtic hotshot has scored four times for Albion this term, including a late winner as a substitute in December's 2-1 win at the Walkers Stadium.

But he has slipped further down the Hawthorns pecking order with the addition of new loan signing Luke Moore to 45-goal strike trio Kevin Phillips, Roman Bednar and Ishmael Miller.

Beattie becomes the third Albion player to head to Deepdale in the last seven months, following in the footsteps of permanent signings Darren Carter and Richard Chaplow.

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