Heckingbottom 'delighted' with addition of Armstrong

Preston North End boss Paul Heckingbottom has said he is "delighted" with the deadline day signing of Harrison Armstrong.

The midfielder has joined on a season-long loan from Everton as he looks for a full season in the Championship.

Heckingbottom's Preston have brought in 12 new additions over the course of the summer window.

"All the business we did I was really pleased with, we worked really hard, and it was non-stop right up until getting Harrison done at the very end," he told BBC Radio Lancashire.

"I think we've got good squad depth, we've got good competition and hopefully we'll start to see that reflect in the bench that we can use, pre-game with the selections we make for the 11, or during a game with the 16 that take the field so it's going to be important throughout the season."

Armstrong recently scored on international duty for England Under-18s against Spain and captained the side coming off the bench to equalise in a 3-3 draw.

"He's young in age but he's mature in terms of his mentality, how he wants to succeed, his performances are already mature on the pitch," said Heckingbottom.

"It's not one where it's like a last minute, take the player - we like Harrison and we wanted to get him and beat a lot of people for him, it was just a case of will Everton let him out?"

The 18-year-old made 15 appearances for Derby in the second half of last season and will be looking to build on those minutes at Deepdale.

"When he played at Derby he played deep, he can do that, get on the ball, break things up and compete defensively," said Heckingbottom.

"I think we can get more out of him in terms of getting on the front foot and press high and getting in the box, we want goals from all over the pitch."

Listen to the full interview and more on BBC Sounds.