Alfie Devine Hails ‘Brilliant’ And ‘Superb’ Aston Villa And Everton Loanees | OneFootball

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Tottenham Hotspur star Alfie Devine thinks that Aston Villa loanee Lewis Dobbin and Everton midfielder Harrison Armstrong, who are on loan with him at Preston North End, were brilliant against Derby County at the weekend.

Dobbin is a product of the Everton academy system and joined Aston Villa in the summer of 2024; last season he featured on loan for West Brom and Norwich City.

Villa sanctioned a loan deal in the summer for the winger to join Preston on loan to aid his development and Paul Heckingbottom was impressed with Dobbin and revealed after he joined that the 22-year-old was excited.

Preston managed to also secure loan deals for Premier League talents in the form of Armstrong and Devine and the young loanees have formed a friendship.

Devine is of the view that because players in the Preston squad are so close to each other that new players feel instantly welcomed, which is very good for young loanees and thinks that Harrison and Dobbin share the same feeling.

Dobbin, Devine and Harrison all took part in Preston’s 1-0 win over Derby at the weekend and the Spurs youngster thinks that the Aston Villa loanee was superb in the first half of the game.

Harrison came off the bench in the second half to help the team defend the 1-0 lead established by Devine and also pointed out that Everton’s young defensive midfielder performed brilliantly.

When asked about whether friendship off the pitch with fellow loan players helps, Devine told Preston’s in-house media (2:40): “The group is so close and with new players coming in, you feel so welcomed within a matter of days.

“So it is like for a loan boy coming in and I am sure Harrison and Dobs would say the same thing, when you come in, that is what you want.

“Because when you feel comfortable on the pitch, you can go and show that and be comfortable.

“I think Dobs was superb in the first half today and I thought when Harrison came up he was brilliant as well, so it shows.”

Armstrong is on his second loan spell of his career and last season he was a standout performer for John Eustace’s Derby.

Dobbin and Devine, however, are on their fourth loan outings and they will be hoping to make the most of it before the season ends.