‘Gibbs-White legal action against Nottingham Forest on cards after Tottenham mess’
Morgan Gibbs-White could soon be forced pursue legal action against Nottingham Forest after his move to Tottenham collapsed.
The England international is highly sought after, following a strong showing for the Tricky Trees last season.
The former Wolves man scored seven goals and assisted eight in 34 Premier League appearances, leading to Tottenham bidding £60m for Gibbs-White.
That offer triggered the 25-year-old’s release clause, and a deal looked set to be wrapped up quickly with medicals planned for the day after the bid was made.
However, chaos followed as Forest sent a letter claiming the North London side’s approach for the midfielder was “illegal”, and that knowledge of Gibbs-White’s release clause had been obtained unlawfully.
Tottenham unwavering in interest in Gibbs-White
Pete O’Rourke revealed exclusively to Football Insider on 15 July that Gibbs-White is likely to end the transfer window as a Tottenham player.
The Forest midfielder is understood to be keen to make the move to North London, despite his current employer’s threat of legal action against Thomas Frank’s side.
Sources told Football Insider that the catalyst for Forest’s outburst was James McAtee’s move falling through after Gibbs-White chose to reject the chance to move to Man City in a swap deal.
However, Nuno Espirito Santo’s side may well be resigned to losing the 25-year-old, as Bilal El Khannouss has been lined up as a Gibbs-White replacement, O’Rourke told Football Insider.
Nottingham Forest and Gibbs-White issues outlined
Sky Sports‘ senior reporter, Rob Dorsett, outlined that despite reports stating otherwise, Forest are yet to lodge a complaint against Tottenham to the Premier League.
The Tricky Trees have been attempting to open negotiations with Gibbs-White for “almost a year”, but the midfielder has not engaged in talks with his current club.
Forest are prepared to give the midfielder a “huge pay rise” in exchange for the removal of the release clause.
Owner Evangelos Marinakis is prepared to lose “significant sums of money to defend his position that Spurs made an alleged illegal approach” for Gibbs-White, and the Greek businessman believes there has been a breach of confidentiality that has resulted in Tottenham’s knowledge of the midfielder’s buy-out clause.
Gibbs-White may be forced to take legal action
There are several moving parts to the story and it looks like something that could drag on.
But the main issue here is that Gibbs-White has a release clause that has been triggered, and yet his club are seemingly blocking a move away from the City Ground.
The 25-year-old’s release clause is now public knowledge, but it is unknown how the response to it being triggered by any other side will be received by the club.
Marinakis and the Tricky Trees have shown a willingness to be bullish in their desire to get what they want, and other teams may well decide to stay well clear of this debacle.
Forest appear to be unwilling to contend with the idea that their best player may not want to play for them anymore, no matter how much money they attempt to throw at him.
This season will arguably be the most pivotal in Gibbs-White’s career. At 25-years-old, he is in his prime and will be desperate for a place in Thomas Tuchel’s squad for the World Cup in North America.
The German boss has made it very clear he prioritises picking players from clubs that are performing in the biggest tournaments and on the biggest stages, and this has been evidenced by his regular exclusion of Everton’s Jarrad Branthwaite, and the Forest man was only a late addition to the Three Lions boss’s first squad after Cole Palmer suffered an injury.
Despite Forest’s repeated claims that the triggering of his release clause was illegal, and they may be right, Gibbs-White has a similar claim to make.
Dorsett outlined that: “Gibbs-White has a contractual agreement that if another club is prepared to pay a certain transfer fee, he can leave the City Ground. He has a potential legal claim there too.”
Whilst this issue is more likely than not to be resolved without the use of the court system, Gibbs-White will be well aware that should his club continue to block a move this summer, taking his employer to court will be the nuclear option.