Tottenham thought they were about to snap up Morgan Gibbs-White from Nottingham Forest after activating his £60m release clause, but his club have pulled the breaks after complaining of an illegal approach
Nottingham Forest have posted a picture of Morgan Gibbs-White returning for training amid the club's transfer row with Tottenham - after accusing their Premier League rivals of trying to illegally tap him up.
Forest have started a dispute with Spurs over their attempts to activate Gibbs-White's £60million release clause. The club claimed they were speaking with their lawyers because they didn't give the London side permission to speak to the player.
They also claimed there could be a confidentiality issue after Tottenham submitted a bid at the exact level of Gibbs-White's release clause.
Forest consider the move off for now while they consult legal help, but it is understood they will only be able to delay the move temporarily and cannot block it if Gibbs-White wants to join Spurs.
With news around the transfer dying down for the time being, Forest have shown off a picture of Gibbs-White arriving for training - after being given extra time off following his spell with the England team last month.
Forest uploaded a post on Instagram showing off a number of players heading back into training with the caption: "Back with the group," followed by a waving sign.
Gibbs-White was included in a slideshow of five players, including Chris Wood, Matz Sels and Nikola Milenkovic.
The 25-year-old has enjoyed a terrific season at the City ground after scoring seven and assisting eight in the Premier League, helping Forest quality for Europe.
His performances have also led to speculation he could join Pep Guardiola's Manchester City, but Spurs now appear to be the frontrunners and they are still hopeful of completing a deal despite the hiccup with Forest.
According to Football London, there is a feeling around Tottenham that Forest ultimately cannot stand in the player's way of leaving.
Gibbs-White is said to be highly admired by new Spurs boss Thomas Frank, who has already been busy in the transfer market by snapping up West Ham winger Mohammed Kudus.
Two loan moves have also been turned into permanent transfers after Mathys Tel and Kevin Danso did enough to secure deals.