Everton teenager Harrison Armstrong continues to show top-level potential during his loan spell with Preston North End.
You might think that Harrison Armstrong wouldn’t have made a huge impact in his latest PNE performance, having been substituted before the hour mark.
That was not the case, though, as Armstrong picked up an assist in North End’s 2-1 win over Swansea City.
Armstrong’s ball over the top found Milutin Osmajic to score, before the 18-year-old was given a well-earned breather.
Armstrong will be back in action this weekend, most likely starting again in Preston’s midfield away at Millwall.
Harrison Armstrong already being considered alongside Jordan Pickford and David Beckham
Few Everton fans will be surprised by Armstrong’s superb PNE performances this season.
The teenager showed his potential on loan at Derby County last season, so Championship football is nothing new for him.
Yet, instead of battling relegation with the Rams, Armstrong is currently sitting in fourth place with North End.
Armstrong is already emerging as one of the most talented PNE loanees in recent memory, putting him in some esteemed company.
PNE have had some incredible loanees over the years, including current Everton stopper Jordan Pickford.
Pickford spent the first half of the 2015-16 season at Deepdale, but was so good that Sunderland recalled him in the January transfer window.
A certain David Beckham is also written into North End history, having spent time as a Lilywhite in 1995.
Beckham only played five games for North End, but his talent was clear – especially from set pieces.
Real Madrid’s Alvaro Carreras and Brentford’s Sepp van den Berg also stand out as some of the most talented loanees at PNE, as well as former Everton duo Aiden McGeady and Jermaine Beckford.
Armstrong is pushing himself right towards the top of the list, though, and has already been mentioned alongside the likes of Pickford and Beckham among North End fans in terms of the most talented loanees the club have ever signed.
If that doesn’t excite Everton fans, we’re not sure what will!
Preston North End captain praises Harrison Armstrong
The praise for Armstrong hasn’t just come from PNE fans.
North End assistant Stuart McCall has likened Armstrong to Phil Jagielka for his maturity at a young age.
Captain Ben Whiteman has backed Armstrong for a big future, and he has now offered more praise.
Speaking to BBC Radio Lancashire, Whiteman suggested that Armstrong is ‘fantastic’ and plays with maturity far beyond his years.
Whiteman also praised Armstrong’s football IQ, believing that he has the intelligence to succeed in the modern game.
“I look at Harrison, he’s like a senior pro in a kid’s body. He’s fantastic,” said Whiteman.
“Very, very football smart. I think you need that in today’s game, you’ve got to be football smart because of the rotations now in a game, the energy that you need, the detail that goes into everything, the planning… you need to have that football brain on you, and every single player that we’ve brought in has got that,” he added.
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