Ipswich Town have completed the loan signing of Preston North End defender Josh Earl until the end of the season.

The 21-year-old spent the first half of the season on loan at Bolton but returned to Deepdale at the turn of the year, before now completing his switch to Portman Road.

He trained with his new team-mates this morning and goes straight into the squad for tomorrow night's game at Oxford United.

He will wear the No.3 shirt during his time at Portman Road.

"The move came around quite quickly, I got told on the Friday that I was possibly moving down to Ipswich on Sunday and I'm here now and can't wait to get started," Earl told the club website.

"I watched the game back and the lads played really well on Saturday, so hopefully we can carry that form into tomorrow's match at Oxford.

"I feel as though it's a great squad and the only aim for everyone this season is to push for the top two."

Earl can play as both a left-back and at centre-back, with the youngster's time at Bolton seeing him feature as the latter.

He turned professional with Preston in 2017, making his debut the same year in a 1-0 win over Reading.

He went onto make 20 appearances for North End before ending the 2017/18 season on loan at non-League Lancaster City.

Josh played 16 times in all competitions the following year, helping Preston to a mid-table finish in the Championship.

The defender joined Town's fellow League One side Bolton for the first half of this campaign, featuring 11 times in a loan spell that was interupted by an ankle injury.