Super Eagles: How Everton fans stopped Ola Aina’s move to Goodison Park

Ola Aina was close to becoming an Everton player. Then Everton supporters changed the course of the deal, Afrik-Foot reports.

The Nigeria international’s proposed move from Nottingham Forest to Everton collapsed after the Merseyside club reversed its decision to sell 19-year-old midfielder Harrison Armstrong to Forest.

According to Football Insider, Everton had been using the Armstrong negotiations to help advance a deal that would have taken Aina in the opposite direction.

When Everton stopped Armstrong’s transfer after a fierce reaction from supporters, the plan for Aina also fell apart.

The 29-year-old right-back is now set to stay at Nottingham Forest, while Everton must look elsewhere for a player in a position they have wanted to strengthen since Seamus Coleman retired at the end of the 2025-26 season.

Everton fans who changed the deal

The story took a dramatic turn at Bournemouth on Saturday, August 29. Armstrong started Everton’s Premier League match at the Vitality Stadium despite reports that Forest wanted to sign him for about £40 million. The England Under-19 international had started all three of Everton’s league matches this season.

The travelling Everton fans made their feelings clear. They sang Armstrong’s name and warned the club against selling a player who joined Everton’s academy at the age of five.

The reaction was strong enough to put serious pressure on the club’s decision-makers. Manager David Moyes also said after the 1-1 draw that Everton did not want to lose players and still needed to add to the squad.

Everton then made the U-turn. The club rejected Forest’s offer and decided to keep Armstrong. The decision was led by chairman and owner Dan Friedkin.

That decision had an unexpected victim…Aina.

Why Aina’s move collapsed

Everton had been looking for a new right-back throughout the summer. Coleman’s retirement had left the club needing another option in the position.

Aina became part of a transfer plan linked to the Armstrong negotiations. Forest were interested in Armstrong, while Everton were working on a deal that could have taken Aina to Goodison Park.

Once Everton cancelled Armstrong’s move, the conditions for Aina’s transfer changed and the Nigerian defender was no longer a target, with Everton taking their search for a right-back elsewhere.

That leaves Aina at Forest after a move that looked close was suddenly stopped. It also gives the Nigerian defender another chapter in his Forest career. Aina joined Forest in 2023 after leaving Torino and has become an important part of their Premier League squad.