West Brom have allowed striker Craig Beattie to join Championship strugglers Preston on loan until the end of the season.The Baggies have a 24-hour recall option on Beattie after the first 28 days of the loan, but the Scotland striker is expected to go straight into Alan Irvine's squad.

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

Beattie has slipped further from the thoughts of manager Tony Mowbray in recent months due to the arrival of loan signing loan signing Luke Moore and the 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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