Nottingham Forest midfielder and Tottenham Hotspur transfer target Morgan Gibbs-White reported for preseason training at Forest’s training ground this morning after his purported move to Spurs was held up over an official protest.
MGW was set to have a medical on Friday ahead of a transfer to Tottenham after Spurs med the £60m release clause in his contract, but Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis launched a formal protest with the Premier League, stating that Spurs and Gibbs-White had made an illegal approach over the player’s release clause. Forest contends that they did not give permission for Tottenham to speak with Gibbs-White and contend the exact price of his release clause was confidential.
Some sources had said that Gibbs-White had completed his medical at Hotspur Way as planned ahead of what was expected to be a mere delay, but according to Football.London, MGW did not actually leave Nottingham to travel to London last week. Gibbs-White did not participate in Forest’s recent friendly against Chesterfield, but not because of the transfer — MGW was one of Forests’ international players who was slated to return to the club this week regardless.
So what now? It’s a good question. Spurs are said to feel confident the transfer will go through eventually, but Forest do appear to be serious about loding their formal protest over Tottenham’s actions. It’s not immediately clear how much of a leg Marinakis have to stand on. Neither club have made any official statements over Gibbs-White’s transfer as of yet, and are waiting to see how the legal proceedings play out.
We also don’t yet know whether the delay for Gibbs-White will have any impact on the rest of Tottenham’s season, or if the threat of extended legal proceedings will cause Spurs to move on from MGW to other targets.
Basically, we’re in the same position today as we were on Friday — limbo.