‘Nottingham Forest owner accused of spinning conspiracy theories amid Gibbs-White saga’
Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has been accused of throwing around conspiracy theories amid legal action over Tottenham’s approach for Morgan Gibbs-White.
Gibbs-White joined Forest from Wolves for over £40million in 2022, and has attracted interest this summer following his displays last season which helped Nuno Espirito Santos’ side to a seventh placed Premier League finish.
Spurs were set to trigger a £60m release clause in the 25-year-olds contract before Forest claimed that they may take legal action over a potential illegal approach.
It is claimed Spurs began negotiating with the player without consent from Forest, and the North London side could now face a fine or transfer ban.
Jordan weighs in on transfer saga
Former Premier League owner Simon Jordan weighed in on the matter on talkSPORT and targeted Forest owner Marinakis.
Jordan was responding to presenter Jim White’s statement that Forest were “consulting lawyers about possible legal action.”
White asked Jordan how there could be a breach in confidentiality that Marinakis might want to pursue: ”It depends who he’s alleging the breach towards, I don’t know who the agent is in this mix, I don’t know whether the agent has been engaged by Spurs so if the player’s agent has been engaged by Spurs because the people who will know about this contract are Nottingham Forest.
“The agent negotiated a deal in the first place and the player, right? So why if Spurs have engaged an agent that’s already the player’s agent then their issue is with the player, Nottingham Forest, because his representation has disclosed the release clause.”
Jordan then played out how he believes events would have unfolded: “So is it the order of events would be this way I wonder. Tottenham phone up Nottingham Forest, we want to buy Morgan Gibbs-White. No we have no interest in selling. End of conversation.
“Now there on afterwards what happens to a release clause. What’s the purpose of a release clause if no one knows about it.
“So a release clause is designed not to be kept a secret by a football club, it is designed to protect that football club’s interest and in some instances like Erling Haaland to manufacture an outcome that best suits the player.
“You shouldn’t be able to buy Erling Haaland for £55million in today’s market place should you.
“It was created by the agent to facilitate a move and probably some more money for the agent out of it. But the reality of the circumstances is who are you going to sue them for what.”
Jordan finished by accusing Marinakis of tossing conspiracies around: “Marinakis throws these things about, wild abandon whether it’s a conspiracy theory against the club because he had hired Mark Clatenburg to help him with the refereeing fraternity which helped nobody or whether its with XYZ challenges that he has by going on a football field and feeling the necessity to make a demonstrative gesture towards a player or manager.”
Forest preparations thrown into disarray
Football Insider Verdict
Marinakis is a passionate owner, who sometimes over steps the mark and he is desperate to keep Gibbs-White at the City Ground.
Gibbs-White was spotted returning to training at Forest, which the club posted on their social media accounts.
They were keen to point out that the player has not left the club and remains a Forest player until this saga has been resolved.
A quick resolution is best for all parties, and Santo will want to know whether he can turn to one of his most creative and influential players again next season.
The Portuguese has already seen Anthony Elanga depart in this window to rivals Newcastle, and letting the England international depart would leave a void in his midfield.
Forest will be partaking in European competition for the first 30 years, but are still awaiting final confirmation whether they will play in the Europa League or Conference League amid Crystal Palace’s battles with UEFA.
Santo looks to have lined up an Elanga replacement in PSV winger Johan Bakayoko, but replacing Gibbs-White will be a tougher challenge.