David Moyes has left Harrison Armstrong's future to Everton after a reported £40m offer from Nottingham Forest, saying the 19-year-old's possible sale will be a club decision. The manager said he would prefer to keep Armstrong after Everton's 1-1 draw at Bournemouth.
That makes the teenager the centre of the latest transfer noise around Everton just days after he played the full 90 minutes at Bournemouth. The timing matters because the club are being asked to weigh a big bid against a player Moyes has just used from start to finish, and supporters have already made their view plain.
Travelling Everton fans sang that the club would have a riot on your hands if Armstrong is sold, and Moyes did not dismiss them. Asked about the reaction, he said supporters are not always wrong, then added that Everton could do with strengthening and hoped the club could build on its current basis.
He also said Everton cannot afford to lose any players, certainly not their better ones. That is the friction inside the decision now: a reported £40m offer is hard to ignore, but Moyes has made clear he would rather keep Armstrong and thinks the squad is already short enough without losing more quality.
The wider picture is that Nottingham Forest are also moving on another deal, having agreed an initial £22m fee with Crystal Palace for Daniel Muñoz, who will have a medical in the next few days. That separate move underlines how active Forest are in the market while Everton are still deciding whether Armstrong stays or goes.
The next step belongs to Everton, not the manager in public. If the club accept the offer, they will be doing so against the backdrop of a supporter backlash and a manager who has already said the decision is not really for just now, but for the club.
