The dust has now settled after the January transfer window, and Everton have decided to keep Harrison Armstrong.
It was rather a busy day on Tuesday even though Everton only signed one player in the end.
Everton News columnist Alan Myers Q&A session on TalkingPoints.
Credit: GRV Media
Dwight McNeil had been poised to join Crystal Palace, only for them to pull the plug right at the last second.
Tyrique George came in, but the speculation mainly revolved around players departing.
One man who ended up staying put though was Harrison Armstrong, which was a very interesting decision from David Moyes, who had wanted to send him back on loan to Preston.
And Harrison Armstrong staying may see a couple of players struggle for opportunities, perhaps none more so than Charly Alcaraz.
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Charly Alcaraz set for depleted minutes as Everton retain Harrison Armstrong
The decision to retain Armstrong by Moyes is significant.
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Given how much he had spoken about wanting to send him back to Preston, he will clearly be getting a decent amount of involvement.
Because Moyes was vocal about Armstrong not sitting on the bench.
Potentially, the biggest loser of the Armstrong decision is Charly Alcaraz, who returned from injury against Brighton.
Carlos Alcaraz ahead of playing for Everton.
Photo by Molly Darlington/Getty Images
The Argentine will be hoping to emerge from his setback, but he may find minutes harder to come by now that Armstrong is sticking around.
Armstrong and Alcaraz are quite similar in terms of their profiles, and also the positions they can play. Both are central midfielders, with the capability of playing as number 10s or out wide.
As we saw against Brighton, Armstrong can operate on the right.
James Garner, Idrissa Gana Gueye and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall are the likely starters for Everton. Then you’ve got Armstrong, Alcaraz, Tim Iroegbunam and Merli Rohl in reserve.
Iroegbunam and Rohl offer different qualities which may help their causes.
But Alcaraz having such a similar player to compete with in Armstrong isn’t cannot be ideal for him.
Moyes’ marvellous midfield options
All of a sudden, Everton are now stacked in terms of midfielders.
The decision to keep Armstrong is so fascinating, because it would have been very easy to send him back to Preston, because there would still have been good depth.
Harrison Armstrong in a challenge with Kaoru Mitoma.
Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
But it really feels like Moyes is going to be turning to the youngster. Otherwise, it will look quite strange given his comments.
And Armstrong would deserve opportunities to play. Since returning from his loan, he has made a handful of appearances in the Premier League and certainly doesn’t look out of place.
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