When Everton wrapped up a season-long loan deal for Jack Grealish ahead of the 2025/26 campaign, it felt like the Three Lions star had entered the last-chance saloon.
It also raised questions as to what David Moyes was to do with his Toffees talisman, Iliman Ndiaye. Both mavericks couldn’t play on the left flank, after all.
But Ndiaye has performed excellently in a new right-sided berth, leading the club’s scoring charts with three goals from nine Premier League matches.
Iliman Ndiaye’s importance to Everton
Alongside Grealish, he is the standout star in Moyes’ squad. Ndiaye only arrived in 2024, signing from Marseille for about £15m, but he was a beacon of hope throughout the end of Sean Dyche’s tenure and has scored nine goals under Moyes; no active Everton player has bagged more.
His electric pace and sharp-witted brain makes him a tricky customer for even the sternest Premier League defence. As per Sofascore, the Senegal international has won seven duels per game so far this season, and he has yet to miss a big chance when played in on goal.
Grealish has a unique skillset of his own, but there is really no one else quite like him on the blue half of Merseyside, perhaps the red streets too.
He wears the #10 shirt with pride and purpose, and it’s unlikely anyone in Moyes’ squad has the quality to take it from him right now.
There is an Everton up-and-comer who would fancy his chances, though. He’s currently out on loan, and causing quite the storm as he angles toward an emphatic return to the Premier League next season.
The Everton prospect who could take Ndiaye’s shirt
For those of an Everton persuasion, it’s a hard thing to admit, but if Ndiaye isn’t playing European football before long, he may well cast an eye on the continent. Already, the likes of Tottenham Hotspur are weighing up a bumper bid, and the Friedkin Group have responded with a price tag spilling over the £70m mark.
Should he leave, Harrison Armstrong might fancy himself worthy of the summer. Certainly, the teenager has been riding the crest of a wave out on loan in the Championship with Preston North End this season, with his performances leading writer Jonny Nelson to predict that he “will be playing for England in two years“.
The 18-year-old has the grace, technical skill and physicality to become a mainstay in the Premier League, and after a promising spell on loan with Derby County last year, he has taken his game to the next level at Deepdale.
Rangy and ever-more athletic, he’s already featured eight times for Everton’s senior side and has racked up three assists, having played prominently for the development side before being determined to warrant a series of loan moves at a lower level.
Lauded for his “unreal” recent performances by the Second Tier Podcast, Armstrong is going from strength to strength.
We are seeing improvements. We are seeing maturity and growth. Armstrong ranks among the top 10% of Championship midfielders this season for progressive carries and the top 13% for successful take-ons per 90 (data via FBref).
A successful take-on is recorded when a player beats their opponent by directly carrying the ball past them while retaining possession.
But, more crucially, it is the overall level of his game that has been raised, more confident on the ball, more combative against the run of play. This is a Moyes midfielder, and one who stands a compelling chance of emulating Declan Rice at West Ham United, who was schooled into the superstar he is by the Scotsman.
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Harrison Armstrong in the Championship |
||
|---|---|---|
|
Stats (* per game) |
24/25 |
25/26 |
|
Matches (starts) |
15 (12) |
8 (5) |
|
Goals |
1 |
0 |
|
Assists |
0 |
0 |
|
Touches* |
33.6 |
35.0 |
|
Accurate passes* |
14.8 (68%) |
20.1 (82%) |
|
Chances created* |
0.3 |
0.3 |
|
Dribbles* |
0.6 |
0.8 |
|
Ball recoveries* |
3.8 |
3.0 |
|
Tackles + interceptions* |
3.2 |
2.1 |
|
Ground duels won* |
2.9 (57%) |
2.8 (59%) |
|
Aerial duels won* |
1.0 (45%) |
1.1 (75%) |
|
Data via Sofascore |
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He is not a winger, and would not replace Ndiaye in terms of tactical role, but the Finch Farm starlet has what it takes to dazzle on Merseyside and provide Everton with a new dimension, much like the silky winger.
Everton might just have a superstar on their hands in Armstrong, one who could hit the heights Ndiaye has reached, and more.
