Moyes wants to keep Armstrong after Bournemouth draw as Forest agree Muñoz deal

On Saturday, after Everton's 1-1 draw at Bournemouth on August 29, 2026, manager David Moyes said he would prefer to keep 19-year-old Harrison Armstrong and described any sale as a club decision, while Nottingham Forest agreed a deal for Crystal Palace defender Daniel Muñoz.

Moyes acknowledged a reported £40m offer for Armstrong and initially declined to be drawn on the substance of it, saying: "I know there’s been an offer, I don’t really think there’s much else I’ve got to say about it. It’s not really a question for just now, it’ll be a club decision." He reiterated concerns about squad depth this summer, saying: "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." He added: "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."

Travelling Everton supporters voiced their opposition to a sale, singing that the club would have a "riot on your hands" should Armstrong be sold, and Moyes, when asked about the reaction, said: "I’d say the manager’s an Evertonian." He expanded on the role of supporters and club decision-makers, saying: "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. 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."

Armstrong played the full 90 minutes in midfield in the match that required James Tarkowski’s injury-time goal to rescue a point, and Moyes praised his contribution on the day, stating: "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."

In a separate development, Nottingham Forest have reached agreement with Crystal Palace for Colombia defender Daniel Muñoz in a deal said to be worth an initial £22m, and Muñoz "will have a medical in the next few days." The 30-year-old had signed for Palace in 2024 under Oliver Glasner, who moved to the City Ground from Palace this summer.

Muñoz was on Palace's bench during Friday’s 4-1 home defeat by Manchester City while talks continued between the clubs, having previously played in Pierre Sage’s first game in charge of Palace, the 2-0 defeat at Everton.

Moyes indicated the club will make the ultimate call on Armstrong and that matters could be resolved shortly — "the club dictates a lot of that and we will see how the next few days go" — while Muñoz is due to undergo his medical in the coming days.