Forest fans are fuming. Spurs supporters are stupefied. Evangelos Marinakis has donned his cuirass and initiated legal action, once again. But this time heâs going into legal battle against Daniel Levy, which must make the Tottenham chairman happier than a pig in slop.
The ongoing saga of Morgan Gibbs-Whiteâs magically met release clause has left the English football world riveted, confused, and frantically speculating about an allegedly confidential contractual detail.
One can only imagine the discomfort Morgan Gibbs-White felt upon his arrival at Nottingham Forestâs training facility, and the utter mayhem taking place in the boardroom and back rooms on Wilford Lane. Someone screwed up, but no one knows who, why or what exactly they did. Nevertheless, one must assume heads will roll in Nottinghamshire before the saga reaches a public conclusion.
Did Morgan Gibbs-White leak the exact amount of the release clause? Is his agent the mole? Is someone else at CAA Base responsible? Who on Spursâ side initiated contact with Gibbs-White or his agent? Did some âtapping upâ take place in a dark car park?
The mysteries make the story absolutely delicious.
Tottenham beat destiny
But one storyline has seldom been discussed since The Telegraphâs Mike McGrath broke the story on July 10. Prior to the Club World Cup, Morgan Gibbs-White seemed destined to continue his career at Manchester City before reports emerged that talks were scuppered due to the perceived difficulty of negotiating a quick deal with Marinakis and the price tag, which was reported to have started at £100 million before dropping to £70 million.
If we are to believe that Tottenham agreed to pay £60 million to trigger Morgan Gibbs-Whiteâs release clause, then it stands to reason that Manchester City were clearly unaware it existed. But if someone in the know was willing to leak the exact figure to Daniel Levy, why wouldnât they have done so for Pep Guardiola? It beggars belief to think Gibbs-White was hell-bent on Tottenham. A more plausible reason would be his contract demands.
Until we learn the details of Gibbs-Whiteâs contract with Spurs, we can do little but speculate. But reports that outside investors will soon pour hundreds of millions of quid into Tottenhamâs coffers suggest Daniel Levy was willing to make the Nottingham Forest star one of Spursâ highest-paid players. Levy could have more than doubled Gibbs-Whiteâs current wages of £80,000 per week by simply matching the reported £165,000-a-week Timo Werner earned last year.
Perhaps there were ancillary reasons. Gibbs-White may have been promised playing time. He may have been sold on Thomas Frankâs project. He may have grown weary of negotiating an improved deal with Evangelos Marinakis. He might simply desire to live in London.
Chances are the public will only receive crumbs of the delicious mystery once the saga is all said and done. But one thing seems certain; there is more to the story than Spurs discovering a confidential release clause.