Henry Jeffcott has terminated his loan spell with Derby County, returning to Arsenal for the remainder of the season.

The Derby County Academy Twitter account announced on Friday afternoon that Henry Jeffcott’s loan has been terminated, with the player returning to Arsenal.

Jeffcott had been playing for Derby’s u21 side, which was always the plan when his loan was confirmed in the summer.

Rather than being about getting senior opportunities, the move was just about giving the defender some consistency in his minutes.

At the time of writing, it’s not entirely clear why the loan has been terminated, but it may not be an indication that Derby were at all disappointed in his performances.

Jeffcott is a left-back, a position in which the Arsenal u21s are currently quite short.

Lino Sousa was the first-choice starter for the Gunners, but his permanent transfer to Aston Villa means he’s no longer on the books. Elian Quesada-Thorn is a strong alternative, but he’s injured.

Perhaps Jeffcott’s return is more about the fact that the left-back spot is currently in need of filling at Arsenal than anything else.

Jeffcott played the full 90 minutes in eight of Derby’s 11 Premier League 2 fixtures before mid-January, at which point the decision was seemingly taken to recall him.

The 20-year-old will have his first chance to feature back with the Arsenal u21s on Friday, February 9th at 19:00 GMT, when they take on Leeds United.