Gillingham have beaten off competition to bring in Republic of Ireland international forward Graham Burke on loan.

The Preston North End player is the second new arrival this week following Billy King’s move from Dundee United.

Dubliner Burke, 25, joined North End from Shamrock Rovers at the start of the season and has made two international appearances for his country.

Gills boss Steve Lovell said: “Naturally Graham has had a lot of interest from other clubs so I’m delighted he has decided to join us here.

"He has proved he is a goal scorer; he has represented his country and has experience of playing at a higher level. This will add competition to our forward areas and we are looking forward to working with him.”

Burke, who joins on a deal until the end of the season, began his career at Aston Villa and had loan spells at Shrewsbury and Notts County before moving to Meadow Lane on a permanent deal in 2015.

Burke played and scored against the Gills for County at the end of the 2014/15 season but his side lost 3-1 and were relegated that day.

He signed for Shamrock in February 2017 and scored four goals in one match during his time there. He joined North End on a three year deal in the summer.

In May, 2018 he made his full international debut for Ireland in a friendly against France. The following month he scored his first international goal, against USA.

His first team opportunities for the remainder of the season at North End looked limited as a number of their players had recently returned from injury.

Following his arrival at Priestfield, he said: "Once I spoke to the manager I decided that Gillingham was the right place for me to get some game time.

"I want to score goals and will be doing everything I can to help the club move up the table.”