Burnley FC sign winger Ross Wallace from local rivals Preston

The 25-year-old former Lilywhite, described by Laws as “one of the best left-sided players in the Championship”, put pen-to-paper on a three-year deal at Turf Moor on Friday after moving from Deepdale for an undisclosed fee.

The Scotland international, who has won titles with SPL outfit Celtic and Sunderland, will fill that elusive left-sided void which has tactically crippled managers in the past to bolster the Clarets’ promotion credentials.

Laws said: “We are obviously delighted with the capture of Ross. He is one of the best left-sided players in the Championship, he has a natural balance and players like that are very hard to come by so I think we’ve done a fantastic bit of business.

“The work that we’ve done in bringing him in will certainly enhance the team and give us that extra dimension we have been looking for. He is a natural left-sided player who has a great ability to manoeuvre the ball, is always looking to be involved, is capable of playing on both sides, has an exceptional delivery of the ball and can take set-pieces. He’s not just your bog standard winger because he’s got a bit of everything and I know our strikers will be very happy with his service.

The Dundee-born player, who played 21 times in the Premier League for the Black Cats before a knee injury curtailed his 2007/08 campaign, scored a stunning late free-kick against Birmingham City during the 2008/09 season to help propel Preston into promotion contention.

Last season, Wallace was again one of Preston’s top performers as he started 40 games, scoring seven times in the Championship.

Laws added: “He’s already made an immediate impact with the lads in training. He trained with us on Saturday because he wanted to get straight into it so I’m confident we’ve got a great player on our hands.

“When a player like Ross becomes available you must get in there quick.”