Loan signing Aristote Nsiala has returned to Everton after his impressive spell at Macclesfield ended.
The 18-year-old Congo-born defender initially joined on a month-long deal and made his debut at Lincoln City in October.
His stay was extended twice, with the Premier League side happy for ‘Toto’ to gain more first-team experience and Macc manager Gary Simpson needing to ease an injury crisis in his back line.
Despite a slight groin problem of his own, Nsiala was a consistent performer in his 13 outings, and found the net in the FA Cup replay at Southend United.
Because Simpson signed Nsiala on a youth loan, Football League rules allow them to extend his stay beyond the standard emergency loan limit of 93 days.
"Toto’s done really well for us," said Simpson. "He’s an exciting young prospect and that’s why we tried to extend his stay for as long as we could afford, and we thought it wasa good business.
"But that’s why we’ve got Dan Gray in, Shaun Brisley’s a few weeks off being able to play again."
