Tottenham are closing in on their third signing of the summer with Nottingham Forest playmaker Morgan Gibbs-White, who was admired by Manchester United, set to arrive in a £60m deal
Tottenham will soon seal a coup over Manchester United and Ruben Amorim, following their earlier setback with Bryan Mbeumo. The Red Devils are still keen on landing the Brentford striker, who prefers Manchester over North London, but have missed out on Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White and West Ham's Mohammed Kudus to Spurs.
The Europa League victors have kicked off their summer spending, having only signed Japanese prospect Kota Takai before this week, and sealed a £55million deal for the Hammers' Kudus on Thursday evening.
Spurs are also nearing a deal for Gibbs-White after meeting the Forest playmaker's £60m buy-out fee, and he is set for a medical at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on Friday, with his arrival imminent.
Red Devils head coach Amorim has been handed a double blow in light of these moves, as he has shown admiration for both players in the past. Spurs have gotten their revenge after their efforts to sign Mbeumo were rebuffed, with the Cameroonian expressing his preference for United.
Earlier in the year, United's interest in Gibbs-White was exposed by ex-chief scout Mick Brown, who disclosed Amorim's admiration for him, speaking to Football Insider.
"United have been looking at Morgan Gibbs-White. He's a player who is highly mobile, works very hard, and has this sort of dynamism to his game," he revealed.
"That's something Ruben Amorim likes and needs in the system he wants to play. I'm told Amorim is a big fan of Gibbs-White from what he's seen.
"He's spoken before about Mason Mount, who's been injured, but is not too dissimilar to Gibbs-White in terms of the role they would play. I think that's a move United will be interested in if they can tempt him to leave Forest.
"Whether they'd be able to get it done, because of their financial situation, is unclear. Nottingham Forest won't let Gibbs-White go cheaply. It will be a huge fee to tempt them into selling."
The Guardian also reported just last week that Kudus was on Amorim's list of potential attacking summer recruits, but the Ghanaian evidently chose Tottenham.
While United's initial intrigue in Gibbs-White and Kudus waned as they pursued other offensive reinforcements, the club has successfully acquired Wolves ace Matheus Cunha for a lofty £62.5m and are still in negotiations over Mbeumo, whose price tag remains a sticking point, reports the Express.
There are murmurs that Brentford may have underestimated Mbeumo's worth, particularly after Forest accepted a whopping £55m bid for Anthony Elanga and with Chelsea's Noni Madueke set to join Arsenal for more than £50m.
According to the Evening Standard, after a 20-goal haul in last season's Premier League, Brentford believe their £63m valuation of Mbeumo might be on the low side. This spells potential trouble for United, who are eager for a team overhaul but must stay within PSR parameters.