Everton are now just a matter of days away from being able to recall midfielder Harrison Armstrong from his loan at Preston North End.
There will be a lot of eyes on the Blues after Armstrong has made another impressive start to a loan in the Championship.
David Moyes is heading into Saturday’s game against Burnley with a serious lack of options in midfield due to injury and the Africa Cup of Nations.
The Blues have known about Idrissa Gana Gueye’s AFCON duty for ages, but Moyes was unable to account for Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s hamstring injury.
With the January window just days away, Everton are heading into the final days of the year with James Garner, Tim Iroegbunam and an unfit Merlin Rohl in midfield.
Moyes has admitted he’s considering recalling Armstrong from Preston, with their manager, Heckingbottom, sharing the latest.
David Moyes has spoken to Preston about Everton recalling Harrison Armstrong
A lot of Everton fans are excited about Armstrong’s potential on the back of his recent displays at Deepdale.
The 18-year-old midfielder has developed again since being thrown out on loan for the 2025/26 campaign.
However, speaking to BBC Sport, Heckingbottom has shared the latest on the future of the midfielder’s loan.
What would be the best decision for Armstrong’s development? 😬
“We’ll wait and see. I spoke to David [Moyes] about it last week,” Heckingbottom said.
“I’m really respectful that Harrison is Everton’s player. I’m really grateful that we managed to get him, and David is really respectful, obviously, of this football club.
“He knows I’ll look after him and he’ll be in a better place having been here, but he (Moyes) knows he can’t leave himself exposed with the tough job he’s got in the Premier League.
“We’ll keep communicating about it and see where it ends up.”
Even Everton CEO Angus Kinnear has waxed lyrical about Armstrong’s Preston performances as the decision nears for the Toffees.
Preston are in action on Boxing Day with an away trip to face Stoke City as they look to continue their push for the play off spots.
Everton must recall Harrison Armstrong on one condition
If Armstrong was to return to Everton to become the starting midfielder alongside Garner, then Everton should pull the trigger and recall him.
However, if there is any doubt from Moyes over how much game time Armstrong would play, then he simply has to stay out on loan at Deepdale.
You can only pick one in January, who are you taking? 🤔
Armstrong is happy enough at Preston and it would not be hard to imagine that he would rather spend the remainder of the season playing instead of watching from the Hill Dickinson bench.
The 18-year-old has become a regular starter for the Lilywhites, which is why he has been able to progress his game again.
If Armstrong is recalled and watches the majority of the season from the bench, then it is just going to result in the same debacle next summer when it comes to his future.
Tim Iroegbunam wants to nail down Everton’s starting midfield role and that could prove enough for Moyes to leave Armstrong in the Championship.
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