Morgan Gibbs-White to tell Nottingham Forest ‘I’m now leaving’ after Tottenham bid
Morgan Gibbs-White will need to tell Nottingham Forest he wants to leave to secure a move to Tottenham.
The England international is facing an uncertain future at the City Ground after the Tricky Trees claimed Spurs had obtained knowledge of the midfielder’s release clause immediately.
This came after Tottenham triggered Gibbs-White’s buyout clause and looked set to sign the former Wolves man for £60m.
However, nine days on from Spurs’ offer, there have been no developments in the deal and all three sides seem to have reached an impasse, as the 25-year-old has not engaged with Forest’s attempts to negotiate a new contract [Sky Sports].
Speaking exclusively to Football Insider, Stefan Borson explained that whilst Tottenham had triggered the release clause, it now fell on Gibbs-White’s shoulders to “enforce” the transfer.
Spurs exit must be pushed by Gibbs-White
Borson explained to Football Insider that to make a deal happen, Gibbs-White would need to tell the club he wants to leave, as Tottenham don’t have any “contractual right” to enforce a transfer.
He said: “The player is the one with the contract and therefore is probably the party that would need to enforce the release clause, not Tottenham.
“Tottenham don’t really have any contractual right to enforce that, so it would need to be the player who would be saying, well, the release clause has been exercised, I’m now leaving.
“It seems to me that the most likely scenario is that the three parties are now going to have to negotiate.
“And Spurs, I don’t know, Spurs may well say we played no part in discovering the release clause.”
Tottenham prepared to pay extra amid hijack fears
Speaking previously to Football Insider about the situation, Borson said that Tottenham would likely pay an extra £5-10m to complete Gibbs-White’s transfer.
There has been interest from both Manchester clubs in the 25-year-old this summer and with the resurgence of the number 10 position, a mad dash is underway to secure players of the former Wolves man’s ilk.
Whilst Man City’s signing of Rayan Cherki makes it seem unlikely they will return for Gibbs-White, there will be plenty of other sides interested.