David Moyes has declined to give assurances over Harrison Armstrong's future at Everton, admitting the 19-year-old's potential departure would ultimately be a decision made above his head, following his side's 1-1 draw at Bournemouth on Saturday.
Armstrong played the full match in midfield as Everton were forced to rely on a stoppage-time equaliser from James Tarkowski to salvage a point. Reports have suggested Nottingham Forest have tabled an offer worth around £40m for the teenager, a fee that would represent a significant windfall for Everton but has alarmed sections of the club's travelling support.
Asked directly about the bid, Moyes was reluctant to elaborate. "I know there's been an offer, I don't really think there's much else I've got to say about it," he said. "It's not really a question for just now, it'll be a club decision."
The Everton manager has been vocal throughout the summer about the need to bolster a squad he considers too thin, and he reiterated that concern when discussing the transfer window. "I have said we could do with strengthening and hopefully we can do that. We have a good basis. Let's hope we can build on it," Moyes said. "I don't think we can afford to lose any players, certainly not our better ones. The club dictates a lot of that and we will see how the next few days go."
Everton supporters who made the trip to the south coast made their feelings known during the match, singing that the club would face a backlash from fans if Armstrong were sold. When put to him, Moyes acknowledged the strength of feeling among the fanbase while stressing that difficult calls sometimes fall outside the remit of supporters. "I'd say the manager's an Evertonian," he said, before adding: "You always have to consider supporters. Supporters aren't always wrong. But then there's also times where I've fortunately had people at clubs who are really powerful and make difficult decisions."
Moyes drew on his own managerial history to illustrate the point, name-checking former powerbrokers at clubs he has worked for. "I'd bring into that Bryan Gray, who was at Preston North End, and also Sir Philip Carter, who was at Everton when I first came in. Not always decisions are popular, and sometimes they have to do it for different reasons. It's like managers have to make decisions on players … but there's sometimes bigger decisions to be made and the club will, I'm sure, make what they think is the right one."
On Armstrong's display at the Vitality Stadium, Moyes was full of praise despite the youngster fading late on. "Harrison played really well, he did a lot of good work. He ran out of legs a little bit later in the game, but it's amazing the effort he puts in and he was probably more of an influence in the first half than he was in the second half."
Elsewhere, Forest have moved to strengthen their defensive options by agreeing a deal in the region of £22m with Crystal Palace for Colombian full-back Daniel Muñoz, who is expected to undergo a medical in the coming days. The 30-year-old joined Palace in 2024 during Oliver Glasner's tenure at Selhurst Park, with Glasner having since taken charge at the City Ground this summer.
Muñoz was an unused substitute as Palace suffered a heavy 4-1 defeat at home to Manchester City on Friday while negotiations between the two clubs progressed. He had earlier featured under new Palace boss Pierre Sage in a 2-0 loss at Everton, his final appearance before the move to Forest looked set to be finalised.
Based on reporting from the Guardian.