# Harrison Armstrong (footballer)
**Harrison David Armstrong** (born 2007) is an English professional footballer who plays as a central midfielder for Premier League club Everton, for whom he signed his first professional contract in July 2024 after rising through the club's academy from the age of five.[1](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/harrison-armstrong/profil/spieler/1107733) • [2](https://www.dcfc.co.uk/news/2025/02/transfer-news-everton-starlet-armstrong-joins-derby-county-on-loan) Born in the West Derby area of Liverpool, he has spent loan spells in the Championship with Derby County and Preston North End and has represented England at youth level.[2](https://www.dcfc.co.uk/news/2025/02/transfer-news-everton-starlet-armstrong-joins-derby-county-on-loan) • [3](https://www.11v11.com/players/harrison-armstrong-276452/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 2007, West Derby, Liverpool; height 1.85 m; right-footed[1](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/harrison-armstrong/profil/spieler/1107733) • [2](https://www.dcfc.co.uk/news/2025/02/transfer-news-everton-starlet-armstrong-joins-derby-county-on-loan) |
| Position and club | Central midfielder, Everton FC, shirt number 45[1](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/harrison-armstrong/profil/spieler/1107733) • [4](https://fieldinsider.com/scout-report/harrison-armstrong-405360) |
| Academy entry | Joined Everton's academy aged five; signed an Academy scholarship in summer 2023[2](https://www.dcfc.co.uk/news/2025/02/transfer-news-everton-starlet-armstrong-joins-derby-county-on-loan) • [5](https://www.evertonfc.com/news/2026/january/12/armstrong-on-everton--dream----key-teachings-from-academy-years/) |
| Senior debut | First senior league appearance off the bench against Tottenham Hotspur, 24 August 2024, a week after first being named on the bench[3](https://www.11v11.com/players/harrison-armstrong-276452/) |
| Loans | Derby County (3 February to 31 May 2025); Preston North End (1 September to 31 December 2025)[3](https://www.11v11.com/players/harrison-armstrong-276452/) |
| Contract | Extended to June 2028 in February 2025; weekly wage estimated at £1,200 by Capology[3](https://www.11v11.com/players/harrison-armstrong-276452/) • [6](https://fbref.com/en/players/de59e609/scout/12525/Harrison-Armstrong-Scouting-Report) |
| International youth career | Four appearances for England at Under-18 level[2](https://www.dcfc.co.uk/news/2025/02/transfer-news-everton-starlet-armstrong-joins-derby-county-on-loan) |
## Academy career
Armstrong joined Everton's academy as a five-year-old and progressed into the Under-18 squad during the 2022/23 season. He had only just turned 16 when he came off the bench for his first Under-18 Premier League appearance, against Derby County at Moor Farm in January 2023. He became a regular from the start of the following campaign, was a mainstay of Everton's Premier League 2 side from January 2024, and marked his first Under-21 start with a goal.[2](https://www.dcfc.co.uk/news/2025/02/transfer-news-everton-starlet-armstrong-joins-derby-county-on-loan)
He signed his Academy scholarship in the summer of 2023, made his Under-21s debut in December 2023, and earned his first professional contract in July 2024.[5](https://www.evertonfc.com/news/2026/january/12/armstrong-on-everton--dream----key-teachings-from-academy-years/) • [2](https://www.dcfc.co.uk/news/2025/02/transfer-news-everton-starlet-armstrong-joins-derby-county-on-loan) In a January 2026 club interview he said it had always been his dream to be a first-teamer at Everton and credited the academy with building the mentality to pursue that goal.[5](https://www.evertonfc.com/news/2026/january/12/armstrong-on-everton--dream----key-teachings-from-academy-years/)
## Senior breakthrough at Everton
Armstrong featured for the first team in pre-season friendlies against Salford City, Preston North End, and [AS Roma](https://www.edgepedia.org/as-roma) before being named as a substitute for Everton's Premier League opener against Brighton & Hove Albion on 17 August 2024. His first senior league appearance followed a week later, coming off the bench against Tottenham Hotspur.[2](https://www.dcfc.co.uk/news/2025/02/transfer-news-everton-starlet-armstrong-joins-derby-county-on-loan) • [3](https://www.11v11.com/players/harrison-armstrong-276452/)
**FA Cup standout.** In January 2025 he created the opening goal for Beto with what Derby's club site described as a pin-point pass in Everton's 2-0 [FA Cup](https://www.edgepedia.org/fa-cup) third-round win over Peterborough United and was named Player of the Match.[2](https://www.dcfc.co.uk/news/2025/02/transfer-news-everton-starlet-armstrong-joins-derby-county-on-loan) In February 2025, days after that spell of attention, Everton extended his contract to June 2028.[3](https://www.11v11.com/players/harrison-armstrong-276452/)
## Championship loans
**Derby County, 2025.** Armstrong joined Derby County on loan on 3 February 2025, remaining until 31 May 2025.[3](https://www.11v11.com/players/harrison-armstrong-276452/) Derby's announcement described the then 18-year-old as highly rated and noted he had already featured in all three senior domestic competitions for Everton that season.[2](https://www.dcfc.co.uk/news/2025/02/transfer-news-everton-starlet-armstrong-joins-derby-county-on-loan) Statistical aggregators credit him with 15 league appearances and one goal for Derby in 2024/25.[4](https://fieldinsider.com/scout-report/harrison-armstrong-405360)
**Preston North End, 2025/26.** A second Championship loan ran from 1 September to 31 December 2025, after which Everton recalled him; he played 120 minutes of the FA Cup third-round penalty-shootout defeat to [Sunderland](https://www.edgepedia.org/sunderland) in January 2026 in his third game back.[3](https://www.11v11.com/players/harrison-armstrong-276452/) • [5](https://www.evertonfc.com/news/2026/january/12/armstrong-on-everton--dream----key-teachings-from-academy-years/) Across the season he made a combined 30 Championship and Premier League appearances, 17 for Preston and 13 for Everton, scoring one goal and providing one assist.[7](https://theanalyst.com/players/3997/harrison-armstrong)
## The Nottingham Forest transfer saga
The football writer Henry Winter reported that Forest had a £35m bid accepted before Everton reversed course after fan outrage: supporters sang against the sale at the Vitality Stadium, the fans' group The 1878s issued a critical statement, and manager [David Moyes](https://www.edgepedia.org/david-moyes) was clearly against the deal.[8](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/person/player/henry-winter-everton-is-a-footballing-institution-and-community-asset-the-fact-the-owners-nearly-sold-harrison-armstrong-shows-a-lack-of-understanding-and-arrogance) Winter attributed the club's willingness to sell to the "pure profit" treatment of academy sales under financial sustainability regulations, and described Armstrong as widely considered Everton's best home-grown talent since [Wayne Rooney](https://www.edgepedia.org/wayne-rooney).[8](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/person/player/henry-winter-everton-is-a-footballing-institution-and-community-asset-the-fact-the-owners-nearly-sold-harrison-armstrong-shows-a-lack-of-understanding-and-arrogance)
## Playing style and assessment
Armstrong is a right-footed central midfielder, 1.85 m tall, whose agent is CAA Base Ltd and whose Transfermarkt market value stood at €12.00m as of 3 June 2026.[1](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/harrison-armstrong/profil/spieler/1107733) Scouting platforms profile him as a development-stage prospect: Field Insider's model rated him 61.6 overall with 2.94 tackles, blocks, and interceptions per 90 in the sampled season, while IAMScouting's attribute grid gives mid-range technical and mental scores (technique 8, decisions 8, intelligence 4 on a 0-20 scale) and classifies his style as expressive rather than positional.[4](https://fieldinsider.com/scout-report/harrison-armstrong-405360) • [9](https://iamscouting.com/players/harrison-david-armstrong) A fan comparison on an Everton forum, adjusted for touches, placed his 2025/26 Championship carrying numbers well ahead of Adam Wharton's passing-forward output at the same age, though slightly behind in passes forward.[10](https://www.grandoldteam.com/forum/threads/harrison-armstrong.122349/page-84)
## References
1. [Harrison Armstrong, player profile, Transfermarkt](https://www.transfermarkt.co.uk/harrison-armstrong/profil/spieler/1107733)
2. [Transfer News: Everton starlet Armstrong joins Derby County on loan, Derby County FC](https://www.dcfc.co.uk/news/2025/02/transfer-news-everton-starlet-armstrong-joins-derby-county-on-loan)
3. [Harrison Armstrong, player statistics and club history, 11v11.com](https://www.11v11.com/players/harrison-armstrong-276452/)
4. [Harrison Armstrong, Stats, Rating & Scouting Report, Field Insider](https://fieldinsider.com/scout-report/harrison-armstrong-405360)
5. [Armstrong On Everton 'Dream' & Key Teachings From Academy Years, Everton FC](https://www.evertonfc.com/news/2026/january/12/armstrong-on-everton--dream----key-teachings-from-academy-years/)
6. [Harrison Armstrong Scouting Report, FBref](https://fbref.com/en/players/de59e609/scout/12525/Harrison-Armstrong-Scouting-Report)
7. [Harrison Armstrong, Opta Analyst](https://theanalyst.com/players/3997/harrison-armstrong)
8. [Henry Winter: Everton is a footballing institution and community asset, FourFourTwo](https://www.fourfourtwo.com/person/player/henry-winter-everton-is-a-footballing-institution-and-community-asset-the-fact-the-owners-nearly-sold-harrison-armstrong-shows-a-lack-of-understanding-and-arrogance)
9. [Harrison David Armstrong, IAMScouting](https://iamscouting.com/players/harrison-david-armstrong)
10. [Harrison Armstrong 2025-2026 Championship scouting report discussion, Grand Old Team forum](https://www.grandoldteam.com/forum/threads/harrison-armstrong.122349/page-84)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Sports, games, and recreation › Association football › Football people and teams › People › Men's footballers of the British Isles (modern era) › English footballers 2015–present › Central and defensive midfielders*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Oct 11, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license