London Evening Standard

The midfielder not travelled with the squad to southern Portugal on Monday due to what Forest said was a private matter that was not transfer-related.

Gibbs-White's future remains uncertain, with Forest considering legal action over Tottenham's approach for him and Spurs still hopeful of a deal

Forest, who say they never gave Spurs permission to speak to Gibbs-White, are looking at whether a confidentiality agreement in his £60million release clause has been breached.

He is said to be keen on a move to Spurs but his team-mate Ola Aina has said the 25-year-old has kept professional.

“He's keeping it professional; I don't know the ins and outs of that," Aina told Sky Sports last weekend.

“He was here today, playing, and he's training, keeping fit as normal.“At the end of the day, we're all professionals - we've got a job to do and that's what Morgan is doing right now. He's keeping it professional."

Thomas Frank says Tottenham have arranged an additional pre-season friendly on Saturday to give players as many minutes as possible heading into the new season.

Spurs will play Wycombe Wanderers in a behind-closed-doors game at Hotspur Way on Saturday morning, before a game Luton at Kenilworth Road on Saturday afternoon.

The club have said “both fixtures will be contested by the first team squad, with players divided into two groups to compete in the respective games”.

Frank said: "We wanted an extra game in our schedule to give as many players as many match minutes as possible, in order to put them in the best position, physically.

"We will play two even, strong teams and they will play between 60 and 75 minutes, maybe more.

"By the end of Saturday, 22 players will have played a lot of match minutes and they will be in a very good place before we go on tour."

Frank's team, who started their pre-season preparations with a routine 2-0 win over Reading last weekend, will host an open training session before taking on Arsenal in Hong Kong in the first north London derby to be played outside of the UK.

Spurs then travel to South Korea, where they will play Newcastle on August 3.

The team will conclude their pre-season by travelling to Germany to take on Harry Kane’s Bayern Munich in on August 7.

A visually impaired Beyoncé fan says she was treated in a “dehumanising” way when asked to give up her cane to access the VIP area at the popstar’s concert last month.

Esther Obigbesan told the BBC she contacted the providers of the VIP package ahead of time to inform them of her access needs, but received no response.

On the day of the concert on June 10, Ms Obigbesan said she was helped to the VIP check-in point by stewards, but when she reached the pitch area was stopped by security.

She claimed they attempted to prevent from entering the standing VIP area, insisting that walking aids were prohibited—despite her explaining that her long cane was a visual aid and did not affect her mobility.

“In the end, I gave up my cane to the medic team and then they let me go down,” she told BBC Radio London's Eddie Nestor. “It was more my confidence and my independence… it felt dehumanising.”

Ms Obigbesan, who spent £489 on her standing VIP ticket, said she was treated as a “health and safety risk” and spent much of the three-hour show crying.

A Tottenham Hotspur spokesperson apologised, refunded her ticket and invited her to a Kendrick Lamar concert on Wednesday as a guest.

While the stadium said its team acted “in the interest of Esther’s safety” on the night of the concert, they acknowledged her experience “did not meet the standards we consider acceptable as a venue”.

After giving up her cane to the medic team, Ms Obigbesan said she later asked a security guard to help her find the toilet, but overheard staff discussing her while inside the cubicle.

She said when she came out of the toilet, security staff had contacted the safety officer who was trying to relocate her.

"They were saying it's not safe for me down there because people won't know I'm visually impaired – I said I could have my cane back,” Ms Obigbesan explained.

She was eventually moved to a seated area two levels above where she had originally been placed, but was distressed for the remainder of the show.

Ms Obigbesan said that while there might have been a miscommunication between the ticket sellers and stadium staff, people with disabilities should not need to warn venues to meet basic needs.

In a statement, Tottenham Hotspur said: "We accept this was not reflective of the VIP package Esther had purchased via the promoter and that her overall experience did not meet the standards we consider acceptable as a venue."

He said: “It's not about seeing the disability aid or the visual aid, it's about seeing the patron… and ensuring that we communicate with them, and not through them, which is what happened in this place.”

Are you craving crisps all the time? This could be the reason why

Are you craving crisps all the time? This could be the reason why

Gibbs-White currently finds himself at the centre of a transfer saga involving the two Premier League clubs after the £60m release clause in his contract at the City Ground was activated last week.

However, Forest are unhappy with Spurs’ approach for the England international, claiming the north London outfit were never granted permission to speak to the 25-year-old.

As a result, any deal has been placed on hold at the moment and Forest signalled their intention to keep hold of the midfielder by naming him in their starting line-up against Monaco on Saturday in a pre-season friendly.

A potential twist in the saga, but there is expected to be an update over the next few days as it has been reported that Gibbs-White wants his future sorted before Forest head off to Portugal for a pre-season training camp.

Crucially though, it is understood that whilst the midfielder is pushing to join Spurs, he is remaining professional. A claim confirmed by Aina when speaking to Sky Sports after the goalless draw with Monaco.

Aina said: "He's keeping it professional, I don't know the ins and outs of that.

“At the end of the day, we're all professionals—we've got a job to do and that's what Morgan is doing right now. He's keeping it professional."

Thomas Frank confirmed that James Maddison is part-training with the Tottenham squad as he steps up his recovery from injury.

The midfielder missed the final weeks of last season, including the Europa League final, with a serious knee injury.

Maddison did not require surgery but the problem has kept him out of the start of pre-season. Tottenham face Reading on Saturday afternoon and Luton next weekend before travelling to Hong Kong and then South Korea.

Frank did not confirm when he expects Maddison to be available, but suggested he was further ahead in his recovery than Dejan Kulusevski and Radu Dragusin.

Kulusevski suffered an injury to his right patella and underwent surgery in May, while Dragusin has been out with an ACL injury since February.

"Maddison is the closest one," Frank said. "He is part training with the team, so that's very positive. Obviously a key player.

Maddison will not play any part against Reading on Saturday but Frank confirmed that Heung-min Son and Cristian Romero will be involved. Spurs are set to name two different XIs to play 45 minutes each, with Son and Romero the two captains.

There is speculation over the futures of both players, who have been linked with summer moves, but Frank confirmed that the pair have "set the standards" in the early stages of pre-season.

Son was the club captain last season, with Romero, Maddison and Guglielmo Vicario the three vice-captains.

However, with uncertainty over whether half of that leadership will still be at the club come the end of the transfer window, Frank has not yet determined who will have the armband this season.

"Good question, I haven't decided anything on that," the Spurs boss said.

"I think I have a long list of bullet points I need to get through. I take them in the right order.

"[Son] was the captain last year and when we play at 2:45pm tomorrow, Son and Romero will be the two captains for each team. But I haven't made a final decision.

Spurs appeared last week to be close to completing a £60m deal for the midfielder, but it had since emerged that Nottingham Forest are said to be considering legal action.

The 25-year-old has trained this week with Forest and it remains to be seen whether Spurs press ahead with the move, but Frank gave little away when asked about the situation.

"You know me well, so I'll use what I've done all the time," Frank said.

"I'll not speak about players that are not mine. I think I've done two exceptions and they're getting older, that's [Cristiano] Ronaldo and [Lionel] Messi. The rest I'll just speak about the players that are inside the squad of Tottenham."

Frank described the 24-year-old as being at "the perfect age" and praised the club's hierarchy for getting the deal done before the start of pre-season.

"Top work from Daniel [Levy], Vinai [Venkatesham] and Johan [Lange] in getting a very good player in early in the pre-season so we can start working with him.

"I think he gives us a bit of that unpredictability in the game. I think he's one-on-one actions are top, I think he's slide passes are top, I think his finishing is very good. He is almost the perfect age to perform but also to take the next level."

Frank has moved across London after nine years with Brentford, the first two as assistant manager to Dean Smith before being promoted to head coach.

During that time, Spurs have had five different permanent managers and a further two as interim.

Frank will be tasked with vastly improving Spurs’ Premier League form, following a 17th-placed finish which ultimately doomed Europa League winner Postecoglou, and faces a first ever Champions League campaign as a head coach.

"I like to challenge myself,” he said. “I've been that privileged that I've never been sacked before, that's one of the reasons why I took the job. Get a little bit more risk in my daily life. Coming to a big club, there's pressure. We need to perform.

"I like the ambitions. Everything I do, every decision I've made so far is for the long-term. It's not about surviving one game or one year or 18 months, or what is the average. No, it's for the long-term."

He continued: "[Leaving Brentford was] very difficult because I'm a person that goes all in when I'm in. Work, friendship, marriage, whatever it is. When you go all in, you get attached.

"I had a fantastic time at Brentford, fantastic people. But I also felt that maybe it was time to challenge myself and get another opportunity. When a club of Tottenham's magnitude are knocking at your door... I couldn't turn it down."

Morgan Gibbs-White wants to know where he will be playing his football next season before Nottingham Forest head to Portugal for preseason training this weekend, according to reports.

The Briton finds himself at the centre of a contentious transfer saga after Tottenham activated his £60million release clause earlier this week, prompting faced backlash from Forest.

The Midlands outfit are unhappy with Tottenham’s approach to Gibbs-White and claim Spurs were never granted permission to speak to him.

But according to the Daily Mail, Gibbs-White is now hoping to have his future set in stone by the end of the weekend, when Forest head to Portugal for a preseason training camp, which will feature friendly meetings with Fulham and Estoril Praia.

He is said to have held talks with Forest officials earlier this week, demanding clarity as to his future. He is planning to travel with the squad to Portugal if the clubs cannot reach an agreement.

The 25-year-old attacking midfielder is said to have been professional in training since reporting back to Wilford Lane, but is pushing to join the Lilywhites.

Forest, however, are keen to hold onto him having already lost Anthony Elanga to Newcastle earlier in the transfer window.

Preseason training is well underway at Hotspur Way as Thomas Frank looks to get to grips with his new squad.

He has already added West Ham’s Mohammed Kudus and former Bayern Munich loanee Mathys Tel to his front line this summer, with an eye to improving on the club’s haul of 64 goals last season.

Gibbs-White played a key role for Forest last season as they finished seventh in the Premier League, scoring seven goals and assisting a further eight in 34 League appearances. H assisted Elanga’s first-half winner as the Tricky Trees beat Spurs at home on Boxing Day last season.

Standard Sport understands Spurs have agreed to part ways with the 22-year-old after failing to agree terms on a new contract.

Keeley, whose current deal expires in 2027, is now set to join Luton once the final details of the move to Kenilworth Road are ironed out.

Joining Luton, who have been relegated to League One, will offer Keeley a chance to play regular first-team football at the same level where he starred for play-off finalists Leyton Orient last season.

The 22-year-old set a club record with seven consecutive clean sheets, across all competitions, and went on to be named Supporters' Club Young Player of the Year and won goal of the season with a 99th-minute equaliser against Oldham in the FA Cup.

Keeley and Orient went on to face Manchester City in the fourth round, in which they took the lead only for the English giants to eventually win 2-1.

After the game, City manager Pep Guardiola singled out Keeley for praise. He told reporters: "We were lucky at the end because they had chances, but we created a lot, their keeper was really, really good and it was a tight game."