The 5'5" Dubliner came through the youth system at Deepdale to make 65 appearances in all, scoring three times. He also had a loan spell at Grimsby a year ago, scoring twice in 7 starts.
There was no guarantee that the 21-year-old would be involved in the Lilywhites' first team next season, which meant he "never had any doubts" about dropping down a division to join the Tigers.
As well as adding to the competition in central midfield, he will also provide much-needed cover for Andy Dawson and Stuart Elliott.
Keane has been capped at Under-21 level for the Republic of Ireland, so he has already had the chance to play alongside two of his City team-mates Damien Delaney and Ben Burgess.
Statistics from the FootyMad player database:
| Michael Keane (Preston) Information | |||
| Date of birth | 29 December 1982 | Height | 5.6 |
| Place of birth | Dublin | Weight | 10.3 |
| Nationality | Position | Midfield | |
| Nickname | Squad No. | 19 | |
| Recent Career History By Club (1999 onwards) | ||||||
| Team | Debut | Apps (+ sub) | Goals | Yellows | Reds | |
| Preston | 12/08/2003 | 24 (9) | 1 | 7 | 0 | |
| Grimsby | 05/04/2003 | 7 (0) | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
| Preston | 02/05/2001 | 22 (9) | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| Recent Career History By Season (1999 onwards) | ||||||
| Season | First App. | Apps (+ sub) | Goals | Yellows | Reds | |
| 2003/2004 | 12/08/2003 | 24 (9) | 1 | 7 | 0 | |
| 2002/2003 | 24/08/2002 | 9 (3) | 2 | 3 | 0 | |
| 2001/2002 | 21/08/2001 | 20 (4) | 2 | 2 | 0 | |
| 2000/2001 | 02/05/2001 | 0 (2) | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Appearances 53 (+ 18 as sub); Goals 5; Yellow cards 12; Red cards 0 | ||||||