Nottingham Forest are said to have held further talks with Morgan Gibbs-White amid uncertainty about the attacker’s future.
Last week, Gibbs-White appeared to be on the verge of a move to Tottenham Hotspur. The north London side had triggered a £60 million release clause in the 25-year-old’s contract and a medical was due to take place last Friday.
The Reds, however, were furious at what they considered to be an illegal approach for their star man. They have since made an official complaint to the Premier League regarding Spurs’ actions.
In the meantime, Gibbs-White has linked back up with his Forest teammates. He had been given additional time off due to his international commitments last month but returned to the Nigel Doughty Academy to begin his pre-season on Monday.
According to the Daily Mail, having returned Trentside, the England international also held talks with the club. The Reds are said to have sent an ‘explosive letter’ to Tottenham, as well as to the Premier League, and have instructed their rivals not to make any further contact with the player.
It remains to be seen what steps the Premier League now take. If they decide to investigate and Spurs are found guilty of effectively tapping up Gibbs-White, it is said they could be hit with a significant fine or potentially a transfer ban.
However, agent Sky Andrew has cautioned it could be difficult for Forest to back up their claims. He said on talkSPORT: “Here's the thing, guys, it's very difficult to prove tapping up. It's very difficult to prove that a club went direct to a player without the permission of a club. We're getting into all sorts of things here - phone records and everything.
“If it goes to arbitration, where it must go within the football rules and regulations, then Forest will have to prove that the club went directly to the player or to the agent. Most clubs know that it is very difficult to prove.
“So, this is a case now of how much will the buying club pay for the player. It won’t be £60 million, it will probably have to be more.”
As for what Reds owner Evangelos Marinakis might do next, Andrew said: "It depends how serious Marinakis is. To me, Marinakis looks like a serious guy. I wouldn't mess with him,” he said.
"He has got to decide where he wants to go with this. Once a player says they want to leave, it's very difficult to keep that player at the club. The resolution is normally to just get the best deal you can for the club. Marinakis and his people have got to sit down with Morgan Gibbs-White and decide where they go from here.”