David Moyes has acknowledged that Everton supporters have a point in their anger over the potential sale of teenage midfielder Harrison Armstrong, telling reporters after the 1-1 draw at Bournemouth: "Supporters aren't always wrong."

BBC Sport reported on Saturday that Nottingham Forest had submitted a £40 million bid for the 19-year-old England Under-19 international, who is widely regarded as one of the finest talents to emerge from Finch Farm in recent memory. Armstrong started at Vitality Stadium and played 87 minutes before being replaced by Charly Alcaraz — his travelling supporters filling that time with repeated chants that there would be "a riot" if he were sold.

"I think you always have to consider supporters; supporters aren't always wrong," said Everton manager Moyes. "But then there are also times where I've had people at clubs who are really powerful and make difficult decisions."

Moyes invoked names from his past to illustrate that unpopular decisions sometimes cannot be avoided. "I'd bring into that Bryan Gray, who was at Preston North End, and Sir Philip Carter, who was at Everton when I first came in," he said. "Not all decisions are popular, and sometimes they have to do it for different reasons."

The Everton manager was careful to distance himself from the final call, stressing the matter would rest with the club — currently owned by The Friedkin Group. "It's not really a question for just now. It will be a club decision," he said. He did add one reassuring note for supporters: "If I'd say something to them, I'd say their manager's an Evertonian."

Frustration over the transfer window

Beyond the Armstrong situation, Moyes made no secret of his wider frustration with the summer window. Speaking to Sky Sports, he questioned the logic of keeping transfer activity open once competitive matches have begun.

"For all the years I've been in the Premier League, this is probably the first time I've thought it was really a nonsense we're still playing games when the window is still open," said Moyes, who is in the final year of his contract at Goodison Park. "It feels like we'd have been better off just getting it shut."

He drew on his career-long experience of losing key players — from Wayne Rooney and Mikel Arteta to Joleon Lescott at Everton, and more recently Declan Rice at West Ham — to place the Armstrong saga in a broader context. "Sometimes it's part of the journey and you have to rebuild," he said.

The Toffees have already spent more than a year searching for a replacement for veteran right-back Seamus Coleman, and Moyes had publicly called for reinforcements after Wednesday's 4-0 Carabao Cup victory over Championship side Preston.

A defining moment for The Friedkin Group

Armstrong has made 24 appearances for Everton and has excelled in the early stages of this season. The prospect of him leaving for Nottingham Forest — a club Everton would expect to be competing against rather than selling to — has caused deep unease among supporters, who view him as their brightest homegrown talent in years.

Everton's main creator Iliman Ndiaye has also been heavily linked with a move to Manchester City, compounding concerns about the club's direction under The Friedkin Group's ownership. How the American owners respond to Forest's approach for Armstrong may yet prove to be a defining statement of their ambitions for the club.

The Premier League and EFL transfer window closes on Tuesday, 1 September at 23:00 BST.