Marinakis intervenes on Tottenham deal for Gibbs-White, deal now agreed
Tottenham Hotspur have not been shy in showing their admiration for Nottingham Forest ace Morgan Gibbs-White.
Forest’s playmaker was the subject of a £60million bid from Spurs that activated the midfielder’s release clause.
Forest, however, claimed the approach made for Gibbs-White was an illegal one, and looked to have derailed any potential move for the 25-year-old.
With a new deal now being agreed for Gibbs-White, it appears that the Lilywhites may have to turn their attention to other targets.
Gibbs-White agrees new deal at Forest after Marinakis’ intervention
The prospect of the Forest midfielder being a part of the Spurs rebuild under Thomas Frank was an exciting one, especially with talented players like Mohammed Kudus already arriving in N17.
MORE SPURS STORIES
Cold water has since been poured on this possibility now, with Gibbs-White penning a new three-year deal at Forest.
According to reports from The Sun (26 July), Forest’s owner, Evangelos Marinakis, flew to the club’s training camp in Portugal for face-to-face talks with the midfielder.
After a passionate speech from the Greek billionaire about how essential Gibbs-White was to the Reds and their ambitious plans for the future, the England international signed a new deal that does not include a release clause.
This is a major blow for Daniel Levy, who looked set to secure one of the best players in the Premier League in his position.
Given the current market, £60million for Gibbs-White would have been a very shrewd piece of business, but it will likely take a lot more than that now to get him to leave the City Ground.
Spurs must show the same ambition in finding an alternative
This is where the recruitment team at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium now earn their money.
After missing out on their primary target in bizarre fashion, they must now look to bring in an alternative with similar quality.
Just because Levy couldn’t get the Gibbs-White deal over the line, it does not mean any new midfielder they sign should be a cheap stop-gap solution.
With the Lilywhites also pursuing an ambitious deal for Bournemouth defender Illia Zabarnyi, this window has the potential to be one that gets the Spurs faithful excited for this new era under Frank.
The best way of putting the Gibbs-White saga in the rear-view mirror would be to secure the signature of another quality midfielder in Adam Wharton, for example.