Everton decide against Harrison Armstrong sale after Nottingham Forest interest | OneFootball

Everton owner The Friedkin Group has decided not to sell Harrison Armstrong in this transfer window after interest from Nottingham Forest.

As reported by The Athletic, Forest were working on a deal for the 19-year-old academy graduate, centred on £40 million plus a future sale clause, and talks reached an advanced stage. The prospect prompted anger among sections of Everton’s support.

Armstrong started Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Bournemouth while the hierarchy debated his future. The board examined trading options to strengthen David Moyes’s squad before Tuesday’s deadline and delivered a unanimous verdict, with chairman Dan Friedkin involved.

They judged his importance and homegrown value meant he would remain at the Hill Dickenson Stadium. Forest had been seeking midfield reinforcements after Elliot Anderson joined Manchester City for £116m earlier this summer.

Armstrong spent the first half of last season on loan at Preston North End, making 17 appearances, before being recalled in January. He then featured 13 times for Everton, largely as a substitute, and has started the club’s first three matches of this season after injuries to James Garner and Hayden Hackney.

An England youth international, he has been earmarked as central to Everton’s project, though squad cost ratio rules have increased pressure to sell. Supporters chanted his name at Bournemouth, and Moyes later said fans must be considered even if difficult decisions are sometimes unpopular.

Source: NY Times

“Artificial intelligence was used to assist in creating this article based on reporting from the original source quoted.”