Tottenham Hotspur have been in a fight with Nottingham Forest over attacking midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White, whom Spurs activated the hidden 60 million pound release clause to sign. However, Forest dispute the validity of Tottenham's transfer approach, with most insiders mooting their claims as desperation to not lose the player - and even Gibbs-White is determined to make the transfer to Tottenham happen
The best way to tell if a team is worried about losing a player or resigned to a player leaving is to see if they are looking for a replacement or for other players in a similar position. And it feels like the desperate Forest understand that it's only a matter of time before their star man gets his way and moves to a bigger club.
According to a report from Relevo's top transfer insider Matteo Moretto, Nottingham Forest are already looking at a midfield transfer target, as they have been circling with interest in Gedson Fernandes of Besiktas - a former Tottenham Hotspur player.
Fernandes isn't exaclty a 10 like Gibbs-White, but he is a versatile center midfielder who can play as a 6, 8, or 10, which has been the case this past season at Besiktas. Quietly, he was one of the best midfielders in the Turkish Super Lig, scoring seven goals in league play while adding two more in eight starts in the Europa League for good measure.
Nottingham Forest's interest is actually sensible
In the prime of his career at 26, Fernandes wouldn't be totally out of place as a transfer punt for Forest, and he was an elite ball progressor in Turkish football with four combined dribbles completed and fouls drawn per game with 3.6 combined tackles and interceptions per match to show off his defensive prowess.
Perhaps a more mature version of Fernandes will stick in the Premier League, as the Portuguese international failed to make a single start for Tottenham in the 2019/20 Premier League season, though he did appear in seven games as a sub and start one Champions League match. Fernandes was on loan at Tottenham from Benfica and returned, eventually blossoming in Turkey for multiple clubs as one of the league's best midfielders.
From a Tottenham perspective, Forest showing real interest in Fernandes is the best possible way Fernandes can contribute to Spurs; it's more than what he did as a player. Because this just might be Forest's way of pivoting away from Gibbs-White and building their midfield, resigning themselves to the fact that the 25-year-old England international is bound to join the Europa League champions.