‘Nottingham Forest firm up Gibbs-White to Tottenham stance amid European twist’
Tottenham Hotspur should still be able to complete a deal for Morgan Gibbs-White, despite Nottingham Forest being upgraded to the Europa League.
The Tricky Trees finished seventh in the Premier League last season, thus earning a spot in the Uefa Conference League.
However, Forest have been promoted up into the Europa League after FA Cup winners Crystal Palace were demoted to the Conference League due to breaching multi-club ownership rules.
Football finance expert Stefan Borson has told Football Insider this decision could be worth an extra £20million to Forest if they win the competition, not to mention the riches that would then come from playing in the Champions League (22 July).
Gibbs-White to Spurs still on
While Forest might be in a better financial position to hold onto Gibbs-White, they are still expected to part ways with the midfielder.
Forest owner Angelos Marinakis is understood to prefer a move to Manchester City for the England international, which would give them a better negotiating position for James McAtee.
However, Football Insider transfer correspondent Pete O’Rourke stated last week (18 July) that he still sees Gibbs-White moving to Spurs — despite a messy situation that includes a legal challenge from Forest.
“I fully expect Morgan Gibbs-White to make the move to Tottenham,” he said.
“If the Isak and Ekitike situations are complicated, this Gibbs-White one is messy.
“Spurs had gone and held talks with Gibbs-White, ready to activate that £60million release clause, and the player was ready to go and sign for Tottenham.
“He was due to take a medical last week, it all happened that quickly.
“Then Forest obviously put these hurdles up to halt the deal.
“Forest are obviously trying to delay things, but I fully expect the move to go through at some point.
“When that actually happens, we don’t know.
“I expect that will happen once an agreement is made between Forest and Tottenham to stop these protests going any further.”
Time for Forest to cash in on Gibbs-White
Football Insider verdict
Losing Gibbs-White will be a harsh blow to Forest this summer, even if they can replace him with a talent like McAtee.
The 25-year-old notched seven goals and 10 assists in 34 Premier League appearances last season to help his side qualify for Europe, as well as break into the England squad.
However, he’s clearly a player with Champions League ambitions and his heart appears to be elsewhere.
| 2024/25 Premier League stats | Morgan Gibbs-White |
| Appearances | 34 |
| Goals | 7 |
| Assists | 8 |
| Minutes | 2,822 |
Gibbs-White hasn’t joined Forest on their pre-season tour of Portugal as the doubts continue to grow regarding his future at the City Ground.
Nuno Espirito Santo has done incredible work since joining the club and the last thing he needs now is a player who doesn’t want to be there.
Gibbs-White is coming into his prime and with just two years left on his contract, this will be Forest’s last chance to land a serious fee for the midfielder.
Cash in, reinvest in a quality replacement and move on. This may be the best path forward for Forest.