Nottingham Forest are considering legal action against Tottenham over their move for Morgan Gibbs-White.
The Reds believe that Spurs’ approach to the English midfielder was illegal, and that there has been a breach of confidentiality provisions in the player’s release clause.
Therefore, Gibbs-White’s move is currently on hold, with Forest reportedly preparing submissions for an official complaint to the Premier League.
Evangelos Marinakis ‘will not hesitate to take action’
Spurs had looked to have a move for Gibbs-White wrapped up, in what would have been their second signing in the space of 24 hours, following Mohammed Kudus’ £55million move from West Ham.
The £60m release clause in the 25-year-old’s contract had reportedly been triggered, with a medical set to take place on Friday (11 July).
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However, the emergence of Forest’s complaints has thrown the move into uncertainty.
Spurs are reportedly still confident of completing the deal, and former head of PGMOL Keith Hackett – speaking exclusively to Tottenham News – has weighed in on the developments.
“The owner of Nottingham Forest (Evangelos Marinakis) is a very wealthy man,” Hackett said.
“He will be very disappointed that he has lost one of his star players. If there is evidence of an illegal approach, I am sure that he will not hesitate to take action.
“Proving that an illegal approach has been made will not be easy. You will appreciate that the Premier League Shareholders are the twenty clubs. It will be interesting to see if at their Summer Conference that any fines will be increased.”
Tottenham may have to play a waiting game
Nottingham Forest, under the ownership of Marinakis, have often demonstrated their reluctance to back down.
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville was banned from The City Ground for Forest’s final match of last season’s Premier League. This was after the former-Manchester United man had criticised Marinakis on social media.
And in April last year, Forest took to social media to claim referee Stuart Atwell was a fan of Luton Town, after Nuno Espirito Santo’s side had seen several decisions go against them in a match against Everton.
Tottenham are unlikely to expect Marinakis’ club to back down in this case either. Therefore, patience may be required while they wait for Gibbs-White’s arrival.