Why Harrison Armstrong might now be on his way out of Everton in shock late move

Everton may be in for a fight to keep hold of Harrison Armstrong before the deadline.

The 19-year-old midfielder feels like he's on the verge of a major first-team breakthrough at Everton.

A Finch Farm product, the England youth international has spent the last two seasons largely out on loan in the Championship.

However, he's played the full 90 minutes in Everton's opening two competitive games of 2026-27, grabbing an assist against Crystal Palace.

Operating alongside Hayden Hackney against Palace, those two looked like the Toffees' central midfield pairing of the future.

But, Armstrong may not be destined for a long Hill Dickinson Stadium career after all.

Which Premier League side has come in for Harrison Armstrong?

Writing to his X account on Saturday morning, David Ornstein claims that Nottingham Forest are working on a deal for Armstrong.

The Athletic correspondent claims that the Tricky Trees are in talks with the Toffees over a possible £40million deal.

It's also reported that any move would see Everton include a sell-on clause in his Forest contract.

Forest have lost star midfielder Elliot Anderson to Manchester City this summer, and Armstrong could be his replacement.

So, what are the chances that Armstrong's head is turned by this interest, and how might he view his Everton situation?

Why Armstrong might feel he needs to leave Everton

After biding his time in Everton's academy ranks, David Moyes now seems to have full trust in Armstrong at senior level.

The teenager has been with the Toffees since the age of five, and so to commit so much of his life to Everton only to leave as he's making his first-team breakthrough would be a huge shame.

However, with the likes of Hackney, James Garner and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall for competition in the middle, he could see his long-term starting prospects as being difficult.

Should Tim Iroegbunam stay, that would only become even more challenging.

Armstrong is showing that he's ready to kickstart his career playing regular Premier League football, but that might not be guaranteed for him at Everton.

Nottingham Forest, meanwhile, don't have as much quality competition in their midfield engine room, and Morgan Gibbs-White feels likely to leave soon enough too.

Therefore, he may see the City Ground as being somewhere he can more likely nail down a consistent starting job in the Premier League than with the Toffees.

But even so, at this stage of the window, Everton would surely be crazy to sell the midfielder even if it's a strong offer from Forest.