Hughes' side were originally meant to play at Preston's Deepdale ground before the police objected.
Irvine opted against leaving Deepdale for the Hawthorns, with WBA subsequently appointing Di Matteo.
Chairman Derek Shaw insisted Ferguson was the outstanding candidate for the job and backed him to succeed at Deepdale.
The Cumbrians beat off interest from two other clubs for the left-sided player, who admitted he was ready to leave Deepdale.
The former Peterborough boss, 38, took charge at Deepdale in January, but won only 13 of his 49 games in charge.
Linganzi, meanwhile, moved to Deepdale on the recommendation of former Blackburn boss Sam Allardyce after a discussion with current Preston manager Phil Brown.
After moving from the Britannia Stadium to Deepdale in the summer of 2005, he made 73 appearances and scored five goals for Preston.
Lonergan is on England under-20 duty against Germany on Thursday and will then report to Bloomfield Road on Friday to complete his switch from Deepdale.
Preston thrashed Cardiff 6-0 at Deepdale three weeks ago and ultimately pipped the Welsh side for a top-six place on goal difference, by just one goal.
Ferguson's last game in charge at Deepdale was a 3-1 defeat by Middlesbrough on Tuesday and Preston sit five points adrift of 21st-placed Boro in the table.
Another Premiership manager who has seen Healy at close quarters is Watford's Aidy Boothroyd, who was on the staff at Leeds when the striker moved to Elland Road from Deepdale.
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Chelsea beat Preston North End at Deepdale 2-0 to secure a fifth round clash while injury-hit Cardiff needed stoppage time goals from Chris Burke and Ross McCormack to beat Championship rivals Leicester City.
Ferguson, who is joined at Deepdale by Kevin Russell and Scott Taylor who were part of his backroom staff during his time at London Road, admitted to consulting his father before accepting the job.
The next two fixtures for North End are also away from Deepdale, with a match at Portsmouth on Saturday followed by a potentially crucial trip to face a Doncaster side who are sliding down the table.
We were desperate to avoid the "Just a moment Bishop, we'll sing O Come All Ye Faithful in a minute but firstly the faithful at Deepdale would like to hear how North End has gone one up!"
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However Ferguson is not confident young Manchester United striker Danny Welbeck, who made eight appearances for Preston on loan last season before returning to Old Trafford with a knee injury, will agree to another loan deal at Deepdale.
Ferguson was given a warm reception as he made his Deepdale entrance, and Preston almost gave him the perfect start after only seven minutes when keeper Hilario, deputising for the rested Petr Cech, had to be alert to beat Richard Chaplow to Chris Brown's header.
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