Harrison Armstrong makes revelation as Preston North End, Everton decision looms | OneFootball

Harrison Armstrong has discussed his Preston North End future amid Everton recall fears

Everton midfielder Harrison Armstrong has reiterated his desire to spend the full season on loan with Preston North End amid speculation over a potential January recall to the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

The teenage midfielder joined the Lilywhites on a temporary basis in the summer, arriving from the Premier League side in a bid to gain consistent game-time and valuable senior-level experience.

So far, the 18-year-old has proven an important part of Paul Heckingbottom’s first-team plans at Deepdale, leading to some fears he could be recalled by David Moyes at the start of 2026.

Armstrong has made 12 appearances from Preston’s opening 19 league fixtures, and netted his first goal for the club after returning from injury on Saturday in their 1-1 draw with Wrexham at Deepdale.

Harrison Armstrong opens up on Preston North End future with Everton decision looming

Armstrong has claimed that his Preston future is out of his hands, but that he’d love to complete a full season with the Championship side.

His main focus is on helping the club earn a top six Championship finish, suggesting that any decision over his future will be up to the powers-that-be at Everton.

“Well, I think it's out of my hands,” Armstrong said, via the Lancashire Post.

“Whatever decision is made, I just hope it's the best for my development.

“I'd love to stay here and contribute to a season.

“Hopefully, we can get in and amongst the play-offs but like I said, I'm just leaving it to the hands of the people who control it and just getting on with my football.”

The concern for PNE and Paul Heckingbottom is that with experienced Senegalese international Idrissa Gueye heading to the African Cup of Nations, Everton are going to be left light in the middle of the park for the second half of December and potentially for most of January, although the recall window will not open until the start of 2026.

Moyes would not be drawn too much on the subject when asked about it nearly two weeks ago, revealing that Everton would consider bringing Armstrong back in January if it was in everyone's best interests, but seemed to infer that remaining at Deepdale may be best for the teen's experience and development, particularly with North End in a play-off chase.

And with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall dropping deeper into midfield since Gueye was suspended for a red card against Man United, and performing well in the process, the Toffees may decide that they have enough cover to last them without breaking Armstrong's loan - although they could theoretically recall him and then send him back to PNE at the end of January before the transfer window closes.

Keeping Harrison Armstrong would be huge for Preston North End's promotion aspirations

It took Armstrong a few weeks to solidify his place in the Preston team, such was the nature of their start to the season, but he is proving a key figure for Heckingbottom now when he's on the pitch, as evidenced when he changed the game against Wrexham on Saturday.

If the club can hold onto him for the remainder of the campaign, then that will be a huge boost to their hopes of earning a play-off place, or potentially even competing for automatic promotion.

Heckingbottom is proving a great coach for developing the youngster, and he has plenty of history of doing that, with the likes of Tommy Doyle, James McAtee and Iliman Ndiaye among others coming on leaps and bounds under him at Sheffield United.

Unless Moyes has a role for him in the Toffees’ first team squad for the second half of the season, then keeping Armstrong at Deepdale makes the most sense for all parties right now - it could lead to his Premier League breakout in 2026-27.