Preston North End rivalling Derby County for Everton, Harrison Armstrong transfer agreement | OneFootball

The Scouse midfielder caught the eye during his loan spell with Derby County in the second half of last season

Preston North End want to bring Everton youngster Harrison Armstrong to Deepdale on a season-long loan, but they're joined by Derby County who want to secure a second Pride Park stint for the teenager.

The Scouse midfielder caught the eye during his loan spell with the Rams in the second half of last season, where he made 15 Championship appearances and scored his first career goal against Plymouth Argyle.

Armstrong made 12 consecutive starts for the East Midlands outfit starting in March, and offered a lot of maturity in the middle of the park for someone who is only 18 years of age - but they face a rival from the Championship if they're going to land him again.

David Moyes holds the key for potential Preston North End, Harrison Armstrong deal

Football -Stock Season 99/00 Mandatory Credit: Action Images David Moyes - Preston Manager

Preston are banking on their connection with current Everton manager David Moyes to help them secure Armstrong's signature, according to journalist Alan Nixon, via his Patreon.

The Scottish manager spent four years as Lilywhites boss between 1998 and 2002, winning the third tier title with PNE and getting them to the second tier play-off final one year later, before Everton poached him in 2002 after sacking Walter Smith.

Nixon says Moyes has indicated that he may leave any decision regarding Armstrong's future until late in the window, which suggests that Everton are still weighing up whether to keep him around their first-team squad for this season.

Everton will be expected to strengthen their midfield options before the end of the transfer window on September 1 though, and should they do that, it could open the door for Armstrong to go and get regular game-time like he did with Derby.

Preston North End have much midfield depth despite Harrison Armstrong interest

The Lilywhites are understood to be keen on securing a temporary deal for the midfield prospect but face competition from Derby themselves, with the Rams eager to bring Armstrong back to Pride Park for another season, as per Nixon's Patreon.

For Preston, Tottenham loanee Alfie Devine made a real impression in his first league start for the Lilywhites, scoring after just nine minutes of their 2-1 win over Leicester City on Saturday.

Even though Armstrong is a different style of midfielder than Devine, PNE set-up against Leicester the same way Derby did when the Everton loanee was theirs - in a 3-5-2 - so it perhaps wouldn't take him long to get used to Paul Heckingbottom's style of play if he were to make the temporary switch to Lancashire.

However, there's still plenty of depth in the engine room of PNE - Ali McCann, Ben Whiteman, Stefan Thordarson, Devine, Mads Frokjaer and Brad Potts are all options, as well as summer recruit Jordan Thompson who is sidelined, so it isn't like Heckingbottom is short on numbers - if Armstrong becomes available though, it's a transfer gamble that North End may just have to take advantage of given his talent.