Everton Reject £40m Nottingham Forest Bid for Harrison Armstrong

Everton have rejected Nottingham Forest’s offer for teenage midfielder Harrison Armstrong after the proposed transfer drew a fierce response from supporters. BBC Sport reported that Forest bid £40 million and included a potential sell-on clause for the 19-year-old England Under-19 international.

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The club’s board, led by chairman and owner Dan Friedkin, ultimately decided unanimously not to proceed with the sale, according to the BBC. Friedkin was reported to have been closely involved in the discussions before Everton stopped a deal that had appeared to be moving forward.

Armstrong has started each of Everton’s first three games of the season and has made 24 senior appearances for the club. He played 87 minutes in Saturday’s 1-1 Premier League draw at Bournemouth before Charly Alcaraz replaced him. Everton supporters repeatedly sang Armstrong’s name during the match as they made their opposition to a transfer clear.

Manager David Moyes addressed the situation after the Bournemouth game, saying supporters had to be considered and were not always wrong. He also indicated that powerful figures at clubs sometimes have to make difficult decisions, while telling fans that their manager is an Evertonian. His comments came before the board’s rejection was reported.

The decision keeps at Everton a midfielder whom BBC Sport described as one of the brightest recent prospects from the club’s Finch Farm academy. It also ends, for now, Nottingham Forest’s attempt to secure the England youth international on the terms submitted. No alternative agreement between the clubs was confirmed in the report.

For Everton, the immediate outcome is that Armstrong remains available after establishing himself in the starting side at the beginning of the campaign. The episode also showed the intensity of supporter feeling around one of the club’s leading homegrown players, with the board’s final position matching the message delivered from the away section at Bournemouth.