Football London

Tottenham are set to pay the £60million release clause to Nottingham Forest to ensure Morgan Gibbs-White makes his move to north London.

A deal for the 25-year-old England international, a long-time Spurs target, accelerated quickly on Thursday when the north London club made the decision to pay the release clause for the midfielder. Gibbs-White is now expected to undergo his medical at Tottenham in the next 24 hours to seal the whirlwind move that will boost Thomas Frank's squad ahead of a season that brings with it the return of Champions League football.

It will complete a £120million transfer splurge at the club with Spurs about to seal a £55million move for West Ham attacker Mohammed Kudus after completing a £5million deal this week for Japan international centre-back Kota Takai from Kawasaki Frontale.

The No.10 in Frank's system is a creative and willing runner and Frank decided while at Brentford that Gibbs-White could be the perfect addition in that role, while also able to play in a deeper central midfield role as well as on the wing if required. Frank's assistant Justin Cochrane has worked with Gibbs-White within the England set-up and now the duo will work with him at Spurs.

In an impressive season for Forest under former Tottenham boss Nuno Espirito Santo as they flirted around the top spots for long periods, he was one of the standout players, captaining the side on numerous occasions and weighing in with seven goals and 10 assists in 34 Premier League matches.

Now Tottenham and Frank are set to benefit from the England international's creative ability and his high energy style after the north London club made it clear they would pay the release clause, something they have been reluctant to do in the past. Spurs also made Mathys Tel's loan from Bayern Munich a permanent move in a £30million deal meaning a £150million outlay in recent weeks.

Tottenham are in talks with Nottingham Forest to try to bring midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White to the club in a £60million deal, football.london understands.

Spurs are about to seal a £55million move for West Ham attacker Mohammed Kudus to boost Thomas Frank's squad and are now looking to tie up a deal for long-time target Gibbs-White after launching into talks with Forest. The 25-year-old England international has got two years left on his contract and Forest are trying to tie him down to a new contract.

However, Tottenham want to bring the former Wolves man, who was linked with Manchester City earlier in the summer, to north London with the lure of Champions League football if they can agree a deal with Forest. There are suggestions that Gibbs-White's contract contains a release clause of £60million which Spurs could choose to trigger if they cannot find another solution with Forest but it could also entice other interested parties.

football.london have previously reported that once the deal for Kudus was done then Spurs were looking to bring in a central midfielder. Gibbs-White can play in the centre of the pitch as well as a No.10 in a 4-2-3-1 formation, which Frank favours. In a big season for Forest under former Tottenham boss Nuno Espirito Santo he was one of the standout players, captaining the side on numerous occasions and weighing in with seven goals and 10 assists in 34 Premier League matches.

Forest agreed a £55million deal to seal Anthony Elanga to Newcastle this week and Tottenham would need to convince the Nottingham side to part with another key player with a big bid.

Spurs also tied up a £5million deal this week for Japan international centre-back Kota Takai from Kawasaki Frontale and further movies for Kudus and Gibbs-White would give Frank's squad a major triple boost for a season in which the club wants to compete on all fronts.

Thomas Frank will have a large squad of Tottenham players to work with this week with more coming back this week.

The new Spurs head coach began getting to grips with the first set of players on the Hotspur Way pitches earlier this week and now the bulk of the club's international stars have returned to the club to begin their testing and bloodwork before joining Frank and his big coaching staff out on the grass.

That means that most of Tottenham's key Europa League-winning stars are now back in the building and that will allow the Dane to compare and contrast what he has in the squad and make those important decisions over who he wants to keep and who can be allowed to leave the club this summer on loan or permanently if a good offer comes on.

Here are five things we spotted in the latest footage released by the club from the gym work and testing for the returning group of international stars.

Romero returns

If there was any doubt amid the transfer speculation surrounding Cristian Romero that he might not return back to Tottenham on time then that was quickly dispensed with on Wednesday.

The World Cup winner was back at the training ground, arriving with midfielder Rodrigo Bentancur. The Spurs vice-captain could later be seen on the stationary bikes with Destiny Udogie before being put through his various tests by the sports science staff.

Also back in the building were Brennan Johnson, Micky van de Ven, Richarlison, Pape Matar Sarr, Kevin Danso, Yves Bissouma, Ben Davies, now in his 11th year as a Tottenham player, and Manor Solomon, who spent last season on loan at Leeds United and helped them to the Championship title.

Son won't be long

One notable absence from the group of returning internationals was the club captain Son Heung-min. Another player with plenty of speculation around his future, the South Korean star is not back at Hotspur Way just yet.

football.london understands that Son, who is approaching his decade at the north London club, has had some pre-agreed family commitments to attend to and he will be back at the training ground by the end of this week.

There are others yet to return to the Enfield training complex with those who took part in the U21 and U19 European Championships - Archie Gray - who has a winner's medal from the U21s competition, Mathys Tel, Wilson Odobert and Mikey Moore, given a couple of extra days off to recover from their exploits.

No Bryan Gil

There has been another missing Tottenham player from Hotspur Way in recent days and that is Spanish winger Bryan Gil. The 24-year-old had been shown back at the training ground at the weekend after his loan season at Girona came to an end.

The Spain international, who is now in the final 12 months of his contract at Spurs, suffered a knee injury towards the end of the campaign which required surgery and ended his season prematurely.

Gil now appears to have been given permission to head back to his homeland though to continue his rehabilitation. His Instagram story videos and photos suggest he has been working with physio Nacho Vazquez and former striker Jaime Asen, who now works within physical training and rehabilitation.

Gil has previously said that he expects to leave Tottenham this summer and with the arrival of Mohammed Kudus this week, the congested winger department in the squad suggests there will not be a place for him in Frank's plans.

That Richarlison and Sarr bromance

We've seen plenty of evidence of the Richarlison and Sarr bromance blossoming over the past season or so, including playful fights on the bench and plenty of teasing.

That friendship looks as strong as ever on their reunion at Hotspur Way with the duo indulging in a squabble on the exercise bikes at one stage while chatting away. Both men then looked to be competing with each other on a machine where you have to push and pull with one leg strapped just above the ankle.

Sarr then later gave Richarlison a playful slap of approval on the back as the pair were going through different physical tests in the gym.

Maddison boost

We've seen James Maddison in the gym before with the Spurs vice-captain being one of the first players to meet Frank when he arrived at the club when the England international was going through his rehabilitation work after his knee injury.

He and Radu Dragusin, who was shown using his strength in pull-ups and weight work on Wednesday, as he recovers from his cruciate ligament injury, are both in and around the first team and Maddison provided a positive update on his recovery.

The midfielder posted images of himself out on the Hotspur Way pitches, running and striking a ball, on Instagram with the caption stating "Back on the grass". Hopefully it will not be too long before the 28-year-old can join in with Frank's training sessions to ensure he is ready for the coming season.

Both Maddison and Brennan Johnson have had tattoos of the Europa League trophy done over the summer and will be looking to add further silverware to their collection.

The bulk of Tottenham's international players are back at Hotspur Way - apart from one key figure - to start life under new head coach Thomas Frank.

Those Spurs players will soon be joined by a new face in Mohammed Kudus as the 24-year-old attacker completes the formalities of his £55million move from West Ham. The Ghana international will be undergoing his medical on Thursday at Hotspur Way as many of the club's international players start taking to the pitches at the training ground to start life under Frank.

Most them returned on Wednesday, having been given longer off after their matches for their country last month, with Pedro Porro one of the few to return early under the new coaching staff.

Back in the building to complete their bloodwork and gym tests with the sports science staff on Wednesday were Cristian Romero, Brennan Johnson, Micky van de Ven, Rodrigo Bentancur, Destiny Udogie, Richarlison, Pape Matar Sarr, Kevin Danso, Yves Bissouma, Ben Davies, now in his 11th year as a Tottenham player, and Manor Solomon.

New strength and conditioning coach Tom Perryman, who has made the trip across with Frank from Brentford, could be seen in footage working with various players.

Those players who took part in the U21 and U19 European Championships - Archie Gray - who won the U21s competition, Mathys Tel, Wilson Odobert and Mikey Moore, have been given a couple of extra days off to recover from their exploits.

Another player who will be back in by the end of this week is Tottenham captain Son Heung-min and football.london understands the South Korean star, who has now been at the club for almost a decade, has had some pre-agreed family commitments to attend to.

When everyone is back, Frank will have a huge squad to work with at Hotspur Way, not forgetting another new face in defender Kota Takai, who joined this week from Kawasaki Frontale. The Dane will decide in the days and weeks ahead which players need to head out on loan this summer or can make the permanent move away from the club as Spurs look to bring in further new signings.

Thomas Frank will finally have the opportunity to work with Archie Gray at Tottenham after missing out on his signature 12 months ago. Following a standout season for Leeds United in the Championship, the teenager appeared to be on the verge of joining Brentford in a £40million deal after the West Yorkshire club had missed out on promotion to the top flight.

Unfortunately for Frank and Brentford, the move fell apart very late on as Leeds were unhappy with the structure of the deal the Bees were offering. That decision opened the door for Tottenham and they duly snuck in to wrap up a deal for Ange Postecoglou and leave Frank frustrated.

The 19-year-old probably featured more than he expected in the 2024/25 season after making 46 appearances in all competitions. An injury crisis saw Gray take his place in the Tottenham XI on a regular basis, with his versatility resulting in him taking on an emergency role at centre-back for a lengthy spell.

Gray will only have benefitted from a season like no other at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and that in turn will only stand him in good stead for the future. Frank is certainly a fan of the player and namechecked Gray in his first interview as Spurs boss, stating that the ex-Leeds player, along with Lucas Bergvall, Wilson Odobert and Destiny Udogie, has "a high ceiling".

Gray's versatility is a big plus point for Frank but ultimately he is expected to become a holding midfielder in the long-term future. The highly-rated ace played there on only a few occasions last season and struggled at times, most notably in a 5-1 humbling at Liverpool that saw him make way at half-time.

What should become clear in the weeks ahead is what Frank has planned for Gray. Given Brentford were so intent on luring him to the Gtech Community Stadium, you would imagine that the player has a huge role to play under the Dane.

Pre-season training is now underway at Hotspur Way and a number of Tottenham's players have returned. Those not involved in international action during the summer are present and the same goes for those returning from loan deals in the 2024/25 campaign.

Tottenham's international players have also now returned after a few extra days off but players such as Gray, Mathys Tel, Wilson Odobert and Mikey Moore are expected to be off for slightly longer after playing in major tournaments that ran until the end of June. Once Gray is back amongst his teammates at the club's Enfield base, Frank can take a good look at him and decide what the future has in store for Spurs' No.14.

He may decide that he is a player who can fill in the troublesome No.6 role or that maybe he believes he is a better option at right-back or even centre-back. Gray is at an age where his long-term position could potentially change and it may not be in midfield as many expect to be the case.

His first appearance in a Tottenham shirt in pre-season could drop a huge hint about Gray's role for the new head coach.

Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly weighing up a move for Brentford forward Yoane Wissa - which would see him reunited with his former Bees boss, Thomas Frank.

Frank, who was appointed as Ange Postecoglou's successor last month, signed Wissa from French outfit Lorient in August 2021 ahead of Brentford's first season in the Premier League.

Since signing for the Bees nearly four years ago, the 28-year-old has helped Brentford to two top-half finishes in the Premier League, scoring 49 goals and providing 13 assists in 149 appearances.

Now, BBC Sport's Sami Mokbel has claimed that the North Londoners are eyeing a move for the Democratic Republic of the Congo international.

At this moment in time, it is claimed Tottenham are "weighing up the financials" of a possible deal for Wissa, who is said to be open to a move across the capital.

If Spurs are to strike a deal for Wissa, then they will need to do so before United sign Bryan Mbeumo from Brentford, as journalist Ben Jacobs claims that the Bees do not want to lose both forwards this summer.

He tweeted: "Spurs are weighing up a move for Brentford forward Yoane Wissa. Move driven by Thomas Frank. Wissa is keen on a move. Brentford don't want to lose Wissa and Bryan Mbeumo in the same window."

So far, United have been unsuccessful in their pursuit of Mbeumo, with Brentford rejecting two bids, the second worth £62.5m, for the Cameroon international.

However, football.London's sister site, the Manchester Evening News, reports that Ruben Amorim's side are confident of striking a deal with the Bees for Mbeumo before the transfer window closes at the end of August.

The Evening Standard reported earlier today that both Mbeumo and Brentford were growing frustrated by the time taken to agree a deal with Man United.

That delay could well open the door for Spurs to steal a march and sign Wissa, before Amorim's side are able to agree terms, with Brentford director of football Phil Giles admitting that Mbeumo could stay with the Bees.

Giles said last week: "There is significant interest in Bryan. His current preference has been well publicised," he said.

"He had an unbelievable season, and we expected interest in him. From what I understand, he is also, if needs be, happy to stay at Brentford next year as well. We've spoken to Bryan and his representatives. It's not a given that he's going to depart this summer.

"If we get the right offer, there is the potential for a deal to be done, but there is only so much we can say now on that."

Tottenham Hotspur have agreed a £55million deal with West Ham United for Mohammed Kudus, football.london understands. The Ghanaian is set to undergo a medical and become Thomas Frank's third signing since arriving from Brentford.

The 24-year-old is set to sign a six-year deal in North London after becoming a key player during his two-year spell with the Hammers. Kudus will join Mathys Tel through the door after his loan move from Bayern Munich was made permanent in a deal worth £30m, and Koko Takai, who joined from Kawasaki Frontale for a fee of £5million.

Spurs pinpointed Kudus as the first big-money signing of the Dane's era after swapping Brentford for Spurs following Ange Postecoglou's dismissal.

Personal terms are not expected to be an issue for Kudus after he prioritised a cross-London switch to move to the Europa League holders.

Frank met up with his new squad on Monday and the club will embark on a pre-season tour of Asia, where they will play Arsenal and Newcastle in Hong Kong and South Korea.

The latest development regarding Kudus means Spurs are a step closer to landing their target before they're due to fly out to the Far East at the end of July following their encounter with League One side Luton Town on July 26.

His imminent arrival comes as Frank faces an important task in strengthening his attacking-line with question marks surrounding the future of captain Son Heung-min and former Everton forward Richarlison.

Speaking after returning for pre-season, the 51-year-old expressed his excitement at having the full complement of his squad ahead of their preparations for the campaign.

He said: "That's what I want. I want everyone in, really compare them against each other, see how they make themselves a relationship.

"Of course, I know the group in terms of looking from the outside, but it's different when you're on the inside and you work with them, you feel them, you understand them better and we all have our own views on certain players or relationship and it's up to me to find that perfect combination that make the team perform on the highest possible level."

He added: "Yeah, it's been good. We had the first session on the grass today.

"There was a lot of tests Saturday, so it's been good to have them out there.

"That's the fun bit, that's where we try to affect things. So yeah, good effort, good mentality. Happy."

Tottenham Hotspur are reportedly eyeing a move for Brentford star Yoane Wissa in a move that would see the DR Congo international reunite with Thomas Frank. The Dane is into the first days of pre-season in his new role in North London after being tasked with succeeding Ange Postecoglou.

It has been said that the 28-year-old is open to following Frank across the capital to the club and Spurs are said to be weighing up the finances behind a possible move. Already, the Europa League holders have been dealt a setback in trying to lure some of Frank's former players across London to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, with Bryan Mbeumo turning down a switch, after setting his sights on a move to Manchester United.

BBC Sport's Sami Mokbel has reported that Wissa is the subject of interest from Spurs and is tentative to a move, which could see him feature in their return to the Champions League.

The recruitment chiefs in North London are rumoured to be crunching the numbers over a move but reports elsewhere suggest that Brentford have slapped a £50million price-tag on his head.

Originally, TEAMtalk suggested last month that Nottingham Forest would have to pay that type of figure in order to beat Spurs, Arsenal as well as both Turkish giants Fenerbahce and Galatasaray.

Despite a confidence from Manchester United in signing Mbeumo, talks appear to have stalled to bring him to Old Trafford following a period of silence regarding the proposed move across the Premier League.

The figures suggested for the signing of the Cameroon attacker is rumoured to be north of £60million.

Frank brought both Mbeumo and Wissa to the Bees, snatching the DR Congo star from Lorient after helping them rise into the top-flight of French football.

The 51-year-old has already provided an inkling into what Wissa could bring to the Spurs squad and with four years of Premier League experience under his belt, it may pose an insight into how he could be deployed should a move materialise.

"Wissa is someone who fits many different positions for us," said the former Brentford head coach in 2021.

"He can play as a winger, as a number 10, and as a striker.

"He has that pace and power which we think is really important to be a threat in behind. He has good ability to take on players and create overloads.

"He also has good pressing abilities; he will need to learn our style of play but he fits the pressing criteria we want from a winger, a striker, or a number 10.

"He had one good season in Ligue 2 and one very good season in Ligue 1 and now we look forward to developing him further. I’m sure that he will help the team.

"He is a very good character as well; everyone knows that it is very important for our culture that we only get good characters in.

"He is very keen to come in and help the team and we are very keen to get him in."

Johan Lange has a "very good feeling" about the coaching team Tottenham have put together following Thomas Frank's appointment as head coach. The 51-year-old was confirmed as Ange Postecoglou's replacement last month but it wasn't until Monday evening when his full backroom staff was revealed.

Previously announcing the arrivals of Justin Cochrane (first team assistant coach), Chris Haslam (head of performance & first team assistant coach), Andreas Georgson (first team assistant coach) and Joe Newton (first team coach analyst), Matt Wells, who was Postecoglou's senior assistant coach, will once again take his place on the first team coaching staff and has been confirmed as a first team assistant coach.

Cameron Campbell joins Tottenham as first team individual development coach and Fabian Otte become first team goalkeeper coach following Rob Burch's exit. Frank's coaching team is further strengthened by Stuart Lewis and Dean Brill stepping up from the academy.

Lewis is now Tottenham's first team academy transition coach and Brill joins Otte in the goalkeeping department as first team assistant goalkeeping coach. Speaking in a club interview about the big coaching changes taking place, Lange outlined the process when it came to deciding on Frank's backroom team.

"In the interview process we had for Thomas we spent quite a lot of time talking about which kind of staff should we try to assemble around Thomas," explained the Dane. "Firstly, we mapped out which kind of competences we thought was important to have the best possible start before we start to put any names to it.

"Thomas had a wish to bring in a few coaches that he has worked with before, but for all the other roles, we've had very, very good process where we've interviewed several candidates for each one of the roles and standing here today with a very, very good feeling and quite excited about the staff we have put together."

Lange then went into a bit more depth on the importance of Lewis' role and also Brill making the step from the academy to the first team.

"As Thomas referenced, I think it's important for us to have specialists," added Lange. "We are very fortunate as a club that we are able to attract some of the best specialist coaches in the world. And as you say, we also made a couple of internal promotions.

"Stuart Lewis will come into a new role as transition coach between the first team and the academy. And as Thomas said before around Cameron [Campbell] coming in as the individual coach, we want players of all ages to have that development mindset.

"But of course to strengthen even more the bond between the first team and the academy is something that we have worked hard on for a number of years and with this new hire of Stewart coming into this new role we believe that it will be even even stronger in the years to come because we have some very, very exciting young players that will come through, push in the upcoming years and they need maybe a little bit of special attention as well to bridge that big gap that it is to go from academy football to the Premier League.

"We've had Dean Brill coming into a new role as assistant goalkeeper coach, he was head of academy goalkeeper coaching. Again, it shows that we want to show both players but also staff that not only coaches, can also be in the medical, performance analysis, scouting, in all the departments, that if you are coming into our academy, getting the DNA under the skin that we can have good, exciting pathways for coaches, specialists in this football club."

Thomas Frank is now making his mark on the training pitch at Tottenham's Hotspur Way base. Appointed in the hotseat one month ago following the decision to part with Ange Postecoglou as head coach, last Saturday saw a number of Spurs players return for the beginning of pre-season.

Tottenham's non-international players were the first to return, with those involved in international action in June set to arrive at a later date. After a day of testing in the gym, the players are now back on the grass and back working with the football.

Frank did a wonderful job during his time at Brentford and he will be looking to make a similar mark at Tottenham as they bid to climb back up the Premier League table. After his first couple of days working with his new squad, the Dane took some time out to talk to the club about the start of pre-season training, the coaching staff changes, the return of his full squad and so much more. You can read every word of what Frank had to say below.

How have the sessions been so far? Have you been impressed by the boys?

Yeah, it's been good. We had the first session on grass today. There was a lot of tests Saturday, so it's been good to have them out there. That's the fun bit, that's where we try to affect things. So yeah, good effort, good mentality. Happy.

Following the coaching staff changes, can you just tell us a little bit about them and the roles that they'll do individually and as well as what they'll provide to the team more generally?

Let's start with the three assistant coaches. Justin Cochrane, who came from Brentford and worked with me before, he'll be in charge of the offensive part of the game and then some training planning and get that smooth and running. Then we've got Andreas Georgson from Man United, but also worked with him previously in Brentford. He will be assistant coach but the main focus on set pieces, of the restarts and some culture. Then we will have Matt Wells, who will be responsible for the defensive part of the game and also contributing to training. I think that the way they split the roles I think is really good and covering all the abilities we would like to have.

Then we have added Cameron Campbell, who is individual coach and big on how we develop the players. That was a big wish from both Johan [Lange] and I, it was something we talked about that we thought was crucial and I think not many clubs have actually nailed that. We tried in the past, I tried in the past, so hopefully we can take it to the next level.

Then we've got Fabian Otte in as a goalkeeper coach. Really excited about him coming in, great experience in terms of working with some of the best goalkeepers in the world and hopefully they can help push the goalkeepers. And then finally, Chris Haslam, who is the head of performance first team coach, which is, of course, the physical part of the football training and all that but also the link to everything. So I think we've got a very exciting group together.

Thomas, tell me a little bit about the way that you line up your coaching staff. So you broke it down there into the different areas of the field, is this usually the way that you go about building at coaches?

Yeah, it is. I believe it's very important to have combination between clear role description for the coaches so they know what they're in charge of. So it's not like, 'okay what are we doing today?' So they know their roles, they know what they need to execute, they know what they need to be on top of, but also they need to be able to all help each other and help but make sure that their most important thing is the training out there is world class. So we need to be with quality, intensity and focus, so that's the main bit. So I think clarity is important for everyone.

There has been so much enthusiasm and excitement from Tottenham fans to see which coaches you're bringing, how potentially you'll go about things but also what you'll do on the analysis front. So can you tell us a little bit about that in terms of the way that you'll be preparing for games and the way that you'll be preparing for pre-season?

So in the analysis front, we also got Joe Newton in who came from Brentford as well and he'll be like a coach analyst. So he will be the bridge between the analyst team and the coaching staff so we make sure that everything is aligned in terms of training, matches, debrief pre and post-match and how we prepare for the opponent. But just as in as much and how we debrief the game because it's the way we play, our principles, that is the most important thing, but with the twists we use or how we tweak it to the opponent.

Is there anything that you look out for in terms of the types of person that you want in your team?

It needs to be people that that understand that we are a unit and we need to work hard together. And yes, I know half of the coaching group, the other half I don't know, but we need to work on that relationship. That's an ongoing process. So hopefully, when we know each other well, we know how we work together, how we are aligned and then we can up to a very well-run engine that just delivers every day.

Pre-season has changed a lot and preparation is slightly different now in the modern day. What does preparation look like as we look ahead to the next few weeks?

I don't know if I'm a modern coach or not sometimes but we started running today! I think old school is still good school, I think that's still important to have a bit of that. Now we had a running test today and we'll have that again when the internationals are back and probably also a little bit later down the season.

But, in general, that was just a short test, basically a 1km test. So if they did it well enough they're below three minutes 15 seconds, So that sounds easier, with turns by the way. So that's one thing that is done and then it's it's football. Everything with the ball, everything is on that, and then we will top up with some runs because I believe there's a big bit in that mental part of pushing.

You've got a little bit of time now before your first game against Reading and I guess the players gradually start to filter back in. How excited are you to get to that point where you got the full group?

That's what I want. I want everyone in, really compare them against each other, see how they make themselves a relationship. Of course, I know the group in terms of looking from the outside, but it's different when you're on the inside and you work with them, you feel them, you understand them better and we all have our own views on certain players or relationship and it's up to me to find that perfect combination that make the team perform on the highest possible level.