Chris Lakey Glenn Roeder pulled off major coup today when Ched Evans rejoined the Canaries on an emergency loan deal.

Chris Lakey

Glenn Roeder pulled off major coup today when Ched Evans rejoined the Canaries on an emergency loan deal.

The 19-year-old Manchester City teenager will now stay at Norwich until February 26 - leaving him eligible for eight Championship games, including tomorrow's trip to Barnsley.

However, he is ineligible for the FA Cup third round replay at Bury on Tuesday because he was not registered for the original fixture, last weekend. Evans can be recalled at any time after February 6.

Roeder, who today completed the sale of Chris Brown to Preston North End for around £400,000, thought he had lost his man when Manchester City boss Sven-Goran Eriksson denied Evans a second loan spell at Carrow Road.

However, the Canaries boss, who has seen his side struggle in front of goal in recent weeks, refused to give up - and todaywas rewarded with an agreement from Eriksson.

“We are delighted to have Ched rejoin us,” said Roeder. “I am very grateful to Sven-Goran Eriksson for his assistance in making this happen.”

Evans joined City on loan in November and made an instant impact, scoring after just two minutes of his home debut against Plymouth on December 4. He followed up with the winner against Sheffield United four days later and in total made nine appearances, three as a sub.

Having played just 11 minutes of senior football - against Norwich in the Carling Cup in September - before moving to east Anglia, Evans was confirming the huge promise he had shown in Eriksson's second string and youth teams.

With Brown now out of the picture, Roeder was running short of choices in attack - until Eriksson answered his prayers.

It was clearly a good day at the office, with Norwich making a healthy, and unlikely, profit on Brown today.

Brown moved to Carrow Road a year ago for £325,000, although the official web site was todayclaiming that figure was £275,000.

He was signed from Sunderland by former manager Peter Grant who, on the back of a record of nine goals in 66 appearances, hailed him as a regular scorer who would shine at Carrow Road. But it never turned out that way; Brown made just 24 appearances for the Canaries and scored one goal - in a 2-1 defeat at Burnley in October, by which time Grant had already parted company with the club.

It proved to be the last time Brown started a game for City.

While his early days at Carrow Road were hampered by a hamstring injury, he managed just eight league starts and two cup starts this season.

Brown's move to Deepdale, on a three-and-a-half year contract, has been a protracted one, with news first emerging of Alan Irvine's interest last week. Brown travelled to the north-west earlier in the week but it wasn't until late todayafternoon that the deal was finally confirmed. Doncaster Rovers and Hartlepool were also thought to have been interested in Brown, although their preference was for a loan deal.

Brown is the second new signing at Preston in the space of 24 hours, after Richard Chaplow moved from West Brom for £1.35m.