Football London

Morgan Gibbs-White was not included in Nottingham Forest's squad for their pre-season draw at Chesterfield but his attempted transfer to Tottenham Hotspur was not the reason.

The 25-year-old England international had been on the verge of a move to Spurs with the north London side having triggered the £60million release clause in his contract at Forest. However, that has been delayed by the Midlands side considering legal action against what they believe is an illegal approach from the north London club along with the potential revealing of a confidential release clause.

Tottenham still hope to push through with the deal for Gibbs-White and the current feeling around the transfer is that Forest may only succeed in delaying the move rather than preventing it. Having already sold Anthony Elanga to Newcastle for £52million, Nuno Espirito Santo's side were not planning on losing the England midfielder as well this summer.

Forest returned to pre-season action on Saturday with a 0-0 draw at Chesterfield and some people took more from Gibbs-White's absence than was actually the case. The former Wolves man would not have been involved in the match against the League Two side regardless of the current situation with Spurs because he is part of a group of players who had been on international duty last month that are not due to return to Forest until later next week.

Whether he would have been involved anyway is another thing but Gibbs-White came off the bench for England late in the 1-0 World Cup qualifying win away against Andorra last month and then got more than half an hour off the bench in the 3-1 friendly defeat to Senegal at The City Ground.

All eyes now are on what happens with any potential complaint to the Premier League from Forest as Spurs look to sign the midfielder and get him involved in Thomas Frank's own pre-season work. Both the Dane and Tottenham have long wanted the England man, with Frank believing he is the perfect fit for system with his creativity and high energy performances.

Thomas Frank certainly has options when it comes to his Tottenham attack for the 2025/26 season. He could have a further addition to call upon very soon if Spurs can complete a deal for Nottingham Forest's Morgan Gibbs-White.

The deal hit a bit of a snag on Friday with the East Midlands club cutting off all communication and considering legal action against what they believe to be an illegal approach from Tottenham along with the potential revealing of a confidential release clause. Tottenham were set to activate his £60million release clause and the player undergo his medical on Friday.

The transfer is on hold for now but Tottenham still want to proceed with the deal. A £60million transfer to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium would follow Mohammed Kudus' £55million move from West Ham.

The Ghana international does give Frank plenty of options in the final third but he mainly operated from the right-wing during his time at West Ham. Given Spurs have splashed out serious money on the 24-year-old, it would be a shock if he didn't start.

Kudus will compete with players such as Brennan Johnson, Dejan Kulusevski, Wilson Odobert and Yang Min-hyeok for a position on the right. It remains to be seen when Kulusevski will be back from injury but he has been an integral part of the Spurs team in recent seasons and they are better for having him in the starting XI.

The Swede is of course an option when it comes to the No.10 role as well. However, that may now be Gibbs-White's position if he is to join from Nottingham Forest.

The 25-year-old has been a revelation in the position for Forest and contributed with some big moments in attack as Forest surprised everyone to clinch a European berth. Gibbs-White brings energy to the team and he would undoubtedly be a huge asset to Frank centrally as he makes things happen.

Quite what that means for James Maddison in the starting XI remains to be seen. Competition is one thing Tottenham do need, though, and rotation is going to be so important as Tottenham compete on four fronts given all the injuries that plagued their 2024/25 campaign.

On the left-wing, the main question heading into the new season is whether Son Heung-min will be at the club. The long-serving player has been linked with a move away after ten years in the capital and it could be the perfect time for him to bow out after lifting the Europa League final trophy back in May.

If he is to exit, Mathys Tel could be the regular starter from the left-wing after joining the club permanently from Bayern Munich. Spurs fans certainly didn't see the France Under-21 star at his very best during his time on loan but he did demonstrate in glimpses that he is a very talented player.

New head coach Frank could well extract even more out of his game and Tel will only be a better player for his four months in north London in the first half of 2025. Richarlison, Odobert, Manor Solomon and Mikey Moore are further options for Frank to consider from the left.

Up front, Dominic Solanke will lead the line. The former Bournemouth man will only benefit from having players such as Kudus and Gibbs-White around him, meaning he should hopefully get more chances on goal every game now after last season having to feed off scraps at times.

If Solanke is not in the team, Richarlison is next in line and then there are further options in Dane Scarlett and Will Lankshear for now. Tel can also play as a striker but is clearly more at home from the left flank.

Amid question marks over when Kulusevski will be back and what comes next for Son, it could be Kudus, Gibbs-White and Tel playing behind Solanke in Frank's Tottenham team to begin with. It promises to be a very exciting season in N17 with a new front four potentially leading the charge.

Tottenham are making moves in the summer transfer window.

Having agreed to sign Mathys Tel permanently following a fine half season on loan with Spurs in 2024/25, Kota Takai arrived in north London as a £5million signing from J.League team Kawasaki Frontale.

That may not have been the big name signing Spurs fans were hoping for, but they did not have to wait long to get one of those as Mohammed Kudus was unveiled as a new Tottenham Hotspur player on Thursday night, signing a long-term deal after a £55million move from London rivals West Ham United.

Thomas Frank and Spurs are not done there.

Before Kudus had been officially unveiled as a Spurs player, there were reports that Tottenham were in advanced talks with Nottingham Forest over the signing of midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White.

football.london understands Gibbs-White has a release clause of £60million which Spurs have indicated they will activate to sign the 25-year-old England international, although Forest are contemplating legal action over what they perceive to have been an illegal approach for the player. Spurs remain interested in tying up a deal, but it may take a bit longer now.

So what does that mean for Tottenham's 25-man squad for the Premier League campaign, and consequently their 20-man matchday squad for the start of the 2025/26 Premier League season against Burnley?

Takai and Luka Vuskovic - signed two years ago but arriving at Spurs now he is 18 - do not need to be named in the 25-man squad as they can be part of the U21 list. As can Tel.

Kudus and Gibbs-White will be named in the 25-man squad, with Kudus a non homegrown player and Gibbs-White qualifying as homegrown for Spurs in the top flight.

Strongest 25-man Premier League squad: Brandon Austin*, Antonin Kinsky, Guglielmo Vicario, Ben Davies*, Kevin Danso*, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Radu Dragusin, Djed Spence*, Pedro Porro, Destiny Udogie, Pape Matar Sarr, Yves Bissouma, Rodrigo Bentancur, James Maddison*, Morgan Gibbs-White*, Dejan Kulusevski, Brennan Johnson*, Son Heung-min, Mohammed Kudus, Richarlison, Dominic Solanke*.

U21 list: Mathys Tel, Wilson Odobert, Lucas Bergvall, Kota Takai, Luka Vuskovic, Archie Gray, Yang min-hyeok, Mikey Moore.

Strongest 20-man matchday squad: Vicario, Kinsky, Spence, Porro, Udogie, Van de Ven, Romero, Danso, Bentancur, Bergvall, Gray, Maddison, Gibbs-White, Kulusevski, Johnson, Tel, Son, Kudus, Richarlison, Solanke.

Yves Bissouma, Pape Matar Sarr, Djed Spence and Wilson Odobert miss out in this matchday squad scenario, with the likes of Vuskovic, Takai, Moore and Yang also on the sidelines.

Thomas Frank certainly has some big decisions to make, particularly if even more signings are completed before the start of the season.

Tottenham have boosted their options in the final third for the 2025/26 campaign with the £55million signing of Mohammed Kudus from West Ham. The Ghana international could soon be joined by Nottingham Forest ace Morgan Gibbs-White, providing that Spurs get over a frustrating transfer snag.

The north London club were set to activate a £60million release clause for Gibbs-White but the move was delayed on Friday with Forest cutting off communication and considering legal action against what they believe to be an illegal approach from Tottenham along with the potential revealing of a confidential release clause.

Tottenham are still hoping to proceed with the deal for the England international and all fans will be keeping their fingers crossed that the big-money transfer does indeed come to fruition. If that is the case, Spurs could have a very exciting attack leading Thomas Frank's team.

Following his transfer from West Ham, Kudus has selected the No.20 shirt that was vacated by Fraser Forster after his exit following the conclusion of his contract. It came as no surprise to see the versatile attacker plump for the number as he wears it for Ghana on international duty and he previously was in possession of the top at Ajax.

Gibbs-White unfortunately won't be able to get his dream number at Tottenham as the No.10 shirt he currently wears for Nottingham Forest is James Maddison's at Tottenham. During his time at Wolves after coming through the system at Molineux, he wore No.55, No.24, No.17 and No.18.

In a loan spell with Swansea City he was No.11 and then he inherited No.27 a season later after making a temporary switch to Sheffield United. No.55 is currently available at Tottenham but that isn't the case with the previous numbers he's had on his back.

Djed Spence is Tottenham's No.24, Cristian Romero No.17, Yang Min-hyeok No.18, Manor Solomon No.27 and Mathys Tel No.11. The numbers would only become available if any of the players are to depart Tottenham Hotspur Stadium ahead of the new season.

That means Gibbs-White may have to take on a brand new shirt number if he is to join Tottenham. As things stand right now, No.2, No.3. No.5, No.12, No.16, No.25, No.26, No.32, No.34, No.36, No.38 and No.39 are all available.

However, it is worth nothing that No.26 is virtually retired in all but name as no player has taken it on since club great Ledley King called time on his career back in 2012. No.41, No.43, No.46 and No.49 are also there for the taking.

If Tottenham can tie up their £115m double transfer for Morgan Gibbs-White and Mohammed Kudus then one player in particular in the team could benefit while an old link-up will be revived.

Spurs were set to trigger a £60million release clause for Gibbs-White but that move has been delayed by Nottingham Forest cutting off communication and considering legal action against what they believe is an illegal approach from the north London club along with the potential revealing of a confidential release clause.

Tottenham still hope to be able to proceed with the move for the 25-year-old England international to complement the £55million signing of West Ham attacker Mohammed Kudus that was confirmed on Thursday evening.

If both players can be brought into Thomas Frank's squad then one man set to benefit hugely will be striker Dominic Solanke. Spurs signed the 27-year-old striker from Bournemouth last summer for £60million and he enjoyed a solid debut season.

Solanke managed 24 goal involvements from 45 matches despite missing a couple of months with a knee injury. The England international hit 16 goals and laid on eight assists, with the winning goal in the Europa League quarter-final at Frankfurt as well as strikes in each of the semi-final legs against Bodo/Glimt.

Solanke's goal haul came despite a distinct lack of service in many games during the season, especially in the second half of the campaign, with the striker running himself into the ground for the team.

Tottenham struggled for creativity at times, especially against teams with a low block, and Gibbs-White, should he arrive, will provide a major dose of quality into the team with his playmaking.

After the midfielder picked out Callum Hudson-Odoi with a stunning pass for one goal last season, the Forest attacker said: "100% [it was one of the passes of the season]. Every time I tell him just look for me, look for me and he found me. You know he's got that quality. He's a special player."

Pep Guardiola called Gibbs-White an "exceptional" player while former England left-back Ashley Cole was full of praise for the Forest man.

"If you look at the potential of the player, again, he can do everything. He can run forwards, he can run backwards, and we always speak about that motivation to run backwards," he said. "He can unlock defences, he can score goals and assists, so there's not a lot he can't do."

Solanke will be rubbing his hands with glee at the extra service not only from Gibbs-White but also from Kudus, who will provide a very direct attacking force down the right, not just in terms of getting down the flank and pulling the ball across but also in creating space with his dribbling ability.

Kudus successfully completed more dribbles (216) in the Premier League across the last two seasons than any other player in the competition. While the 24-year-old Ghana international only provided four assists this season, he managed 10 in his debut campaign, along with 18 goals of his own.

He and Gibbs-White have the potential to cause havoc aplenty at Tottenham and provide the bullets for Solanke to fire.

While Kudus will be aiming to be the main starter on the right, he will face serious competition from Tottenham's top scorer last season Brennan Johnson.

The Wales international hit 18 goals and provided eight assists and the 24-year-old was someone wanted by Frank at Brentford, which should stand him in good stead under the Dane at Spurs.

Another aspect that will go in his favour is that he will be reviving his link-up with Gibbs-White if the midfielder joins. The duo played together in the 2022/23 season after the Tottenham target moved to Forest from Wolves.

Gibbs-White provided both of the assists for Johnson's double against Leicester that year and the duo struck up a friendship during their time together in Nottingham. When Johnson announced his departure to Spurs on Instagram, his former team-mate declared that he was still going to pass to him.

One thing is clear and that's if Tottenham can get their £115m double deal over the line then it is likely to give Frank's frontline a big shot in the arm for the coming season.

Morgan Gibbs-White's potential £60million move to Tottenham will see him join forces with a former teammate once again. It could be one that proves to be an exciting partnership in Thomas Frank's new-look Spurs team.

After making a huge name for himself across the last three seasons at Nottingham Forest, the England international appears on course to join Spurs in a £60million transfer, although the move did hit a stumbling block on Friday with Forest considering legal action over what they perceive to be an illegal approach. If indeed the deal does still go through as Tottenham want to proceed with it, it could help transform things for the Lilywhites in the final third.

During his first season at the City Ground after joining from Wolves, the 25-year-old contributed five goals and eight assists during his 35 appearances for Forest as he helped keep them in the Premier League at the first time of asking. Two of those assists were for Brennan Johnson goals, with both coming in a 2-0 win over East Midlands rivals Leicester City in January 2023.

Speaking to the Premier League after the duo combined to perfection in the victory, Johnson said: "I'm working well with Morgan. We are combining well, particularly when we are getting in on the right."

Steve Cooper was also full of praise of the duo when giving his assessment, mentioning "they were brilliant" and "when they connect with each other, they are a real threat for any opponent". He also stated that Gibbs-White is "a proper player".

There is quite clearly a connection between both players and it is something we could soon see on a pitch again with both this time wearing Tottenham shirts. In the 4-2-3-1 formation that Frank utilised at Brentford last season, Gibbs-White would be deployed in the No.10 role and Johnson would be to the right of him on the right-wing.

They would be able to rekindle the partnership they formed together at Nottingham Forest and it is one that could prove very exciting for Frank and all connected with Spurs. After ensuring that the East Midlands club kept their place in the Premier League for the 2023/24 season, Johnson moved on that summer as he made the move to Tottenham.

Taking to his Instagram account after Johnson had uploaded a post describing his "absolute honour" to have joined Spurs, Gibbs-White penned "I'll still pass you the ball" in the comments along with a crying emoji. The England international could now be on course to do exactly that at Tottenham once his move from Nottingham Forest is finalised.

It looks set to be an exciting season at Tottenham with Johnson and Gibbs-White's partnership possibly at the heart of it.

Tottenham Hotspur's new arrivals will bolster Thomas Frank's squad for the coming season but what will them mean for the club's squad issues?

Spurs sealed a £55million move for West Ham attacker Mohammed Kudus on Thursday after completing a £5million transfer earlier this week for Japan international centre-back Kota Takai from Kawasaki Frontale.

Tottenham were set to trigger a £60million release clause for Morgan Gibbs-White with a medical to be held on Friday. However, the transfer has hit what is hoped to be a temporary road block as Forest have cut off communications at this time as they believe they did not give permission for the north London club to approach the 25-year-old England international despite the release clause.

Forest are also said to believe the confidentiality of the release clause has been breached as Spurs' approach for Gibbs-White was precisely what was required. football.london understands Tottenham remain hopeful of proceeding with the deal and while a delay appears inevitable at the least, there is also a feeling among some at Forest that they could be powerless to stop the transfer should Spurs do it all through the proper channels.

So if that deal goes through and the transfer business under Frank reaches £150million, including Mathys Tel's loan move being made permanent from Bayern Munich, then how does it affect Spurs' long-standing squad issues that has seen players left out every season from their European squad?

Here's what it means for both their Premier League and Champions League squads if Gibbs-White does complete his move.

Premier League

So Fraser Forster, Timo Werner, Alfie Whiteman, Sergio Reguilon and Alejo Veliz can all come out of the squad. However, there is another issue because three players must come out of the Under-21s list and into the main lists, namely Antonin Kinsky, Josh Keeley and Matthew Craig.

We can assume that Craig will not be part of the first team squad this season so we're not going to include him here.

There is still space here for the new signings though, especially when you look at players who are unlikely to be at the club next season. That's mainly because a club's Under-21 players do not need to be included on their 25-man squad list yet are eligible to play in the Premier League.

To be considered an Under-21 player for this current Premier League season, players must have been born on or after January 1, 2004. That means Tel and Takai do not have to be registered in the main squad and neither will Luka Vuskovic, nor the returning Yang Min-hyeok.

It also appears that Danso qualifies as a homegrown player in Premier League terms because he was in the youth academies at Reading and MK Dons for years before leaving England at the age of 16 and later returning for a season at Southampton.

The Premier League rules state that "a 'Home Grown Player' means a player who, irrespective of nationality or age, has been registered with any club affiliated to The Football Association or the Football Association of Wales for a period, continuous or not, of three entire seasons, or 36 months, before his 21st birthday (or the end of the season during which he turns 21)."

With that in mind, here's how the club's Premier League squad looks right now, including players returning from loan and before anyone else leaves. It shows that players must leave before any more can be registered, unless they are in the under-21 bracket.

Premier League non-homegrown players (17 currently, 17 maximum allowed): Guglielmo Vicario, Antonin Kinsky, Pedro Porro, Radu Dragusin, Destiny Udogie, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Rodrigo Bentancur, Yves Bissouma, Dejan Kulusevski, Richarlison, Son Heung-min, Pape Matar Sarr, Manor Solomon, Bryan Gil, Josh Keeley, Mohammed Kudus.

Premier League homegrown players (8 currently and eight minimum required): Dominic Solanke, Kevin Danso, Brandon Austin, Ben Davies, James Maddison, Brennan Johnson, Djed Spence, Morgan Gibbs-White.

Notable Under-21s players: Kota Takai, Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Wilson Odobert, Mathys Tel, Dane Scarlett, Yang-min Hyeok, Luka Vuskovic, Ashley Phillips, Alfie Devine, Jamie Donley, Alfie Dorrington.

Champions League

This is the part where it all gets very messy. It's an area that has been a constant problem for Spurs and will continue to be for a while longer until the recent batch of 18-year-old signings eventually become B list players after two years and then club-trained players three years down the line from when they joined.

The major issue in the Champions League, as it was in the Europa League, lies in the fact that UEFA's rules state that no club can have more than 25 players on their A-List during the season, of whom at least two must be goalkeepers. The rules then say that "as a minimum, eight of those 25 places are reserved exclusively for 'locally trained players' and no club may have more than four 'association-trained players' listed among those eight places. If a club have fewer than eight locally trained players in their squad, then the maximum number of players on List A is reduced accordingly".

What is a locally-trained player you might ask? Well, there are two different kinds. One are 'club-trained players', those on a club's books for three entire seasons or 36 months between the ages of 15 and 21. The other are 'association-trained players', who were on another club's books in the same association for three entire seasons or 36 months between the ages of 15 and 21. Danso will not fit into that latter category because he left England at the age of 16.

Then there is a B-List for players born on, or after, January 1, 2004 and who have been eligible to play for the club for any uninterrupted period of two years since their 15th birthday – or for a total of three consecutive years with a maximum of one loan period to a club from the same association for a period not longer than one year. Players aged 16 may be submitted if they have been registered with the club for the previous two years without interruption.

So with all that in mind, Spurs' Champions League squad in its current state is bloated and running over in both non-locally trained spots and association trained ones.

That they only have one club-trained player in goalkeeper Brandon Austin now when they need to register four, means Tottenham would have to leave three spots open in what should be a 25-man squad, but instead becomes a 22-man one.

Players like Dane Scarlett, Jamie Donley and Alfie Devine could go on the B list if required as they meet those requirements. There's no point putting them in the club-trained players spots really because they don't need to.

So with the addition of Takai and Kudus, Spurs have 24 players to fit into 17 non-locally trained spots and eight association-trained players for four other spots if we're including Gibbs-White. Any association-trained players over those four spots would need to be crowbarred into the main group.

The simplest way to look at it is that Spurs would have 32 senior players to fit into 21 spots, keeping Austin aside, and that's before they even try to sign new players this window.

Tottenham need to get plenty of players out of the door this summer and that's why you could well see some surprise departures in the weeks ahead and expected ones, plus loans aplenty or players having to face being left out of the Champions League squad for the knockout stages at least.

Spurs need a bigger squad to compete in all four competitions but they just don't have the club-trained numbers to make that work in Europe.

European non-locally trained players (24 currently, 17 maximum): Guglielmo Vicario, Antonin Kinsky, Pedro Porro, Kevin Danso, Radu Dragusin, Destiny Udogie, Cristian Romero, Micky van de Ven, Rodrigo Bentancur, Yves Bissouma, Wilson Odobert, Dejan Kulusevski, Richarlison, Son Heung-min, Pape Matar Sarr, Lucas Bergvall, Mathys Tel, Manor Solomon, Bryan Gil, Yang-min Hyeok, Luka Vuskovic, Josh Keeley, Kota Takai, Mohammed Kudus.

Association trained players (8 currently, four can be used in exclusive slots): Dominic Solanke, Ben Davies, James Maddison, Brennan Johnson, Djed Spence, Archie Gray, Ashley Phillips, Morgan Gibbs-White.

Club trained players (1 currently, four required): Brandon Austin.

Tottenham Hotspur are at no risk of breaking the Premier League's Financial Fair Play (FFP) Profit and Sustainability Rules (PSR) despite their attempts to spend big under new head coach Thomas Frank.

Spurs announced the signing of West Ham's Mohammed Kudus on Thursday evening and this was quickly followed up by the news that Tottenham were keen to activate the release clause of Morgan Gibbs-White. Football.london understands that while there was hope of conducting the England international's medical on Friday, that has been delayed as Nottingham Forest consider legal action against the north London club.

It is understood that Forest think Spurs made an illegal move for Gibbs-White and have cut off all communication with Frank's recruitment team. At this stage, it is thought that this will merely delay Tottenham's bid for the midfielder and not cancel it altogether.

Having finished so lowly in the Premier League table, some have suggested that Spurs could be in danger of exceeding the £105m permittable losses from the past three seasons. However, our Chief Business of Football writer Dave Powell understands that this is not a concern which Tottenham supporters need to fear.

"The signing of Mohammed Kudus for £55m from West Ham United, and the willingness to pay the £60m release clause to acquire Gibbs-White, as well as the £30m permanent addition of Mathys Tel from Bayern Munich following his loan spell, the £5m signing of Kota Takai from Japanese J-League side Kawasaki Frontale, and the £12m signing of Luka Vuskovic from Hajduk Split, a deal agreed earlier this year but formalised recently, means the transfer outlay stands at £162m this summer," he explained.

"In terms of what that adds to the balance sheet, assuming those deals are amortised over the permitted five-year maximum by UEFA, then it will be a £32m charge on the balance sheet for Spurs annually. For 2023/24 the amortisation costs at the club stood at £135.8m, the fifth largest in the Premier League during the period - that was up 25 per cent from the previous year.

"Spurs’ 2024/25 financial year came to a close on June 30, prior to the addition of Kudus and Takai and the formalisation of a permanent deal for Tel, which started after his initial loan deal finished at the end of June. The signings of Dominic Solanke, Wilson Odobert, Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall and Antonin Kinsky will all be accounted for during 2024/25, and that means that it’s likely the amortisation costs jump once more, especially given comparatively weak player trading for those exiting the club.

"However, Spurs are in a strong position when it comes to PSR, a position only emboldened further by them qualifying for the Champions League this coming season by virtue of winning last season’s Europa League. The future revenues for 2025/26 will be significantly impactful to the club’s bottom line.

"PSR assesses clubs over a three-year cycle, with losses capped at £105m. There are allowable deductions for such things as depreciation, investment in infrastructure, the academy, the women’s team and community initiatives.

"Spurs lost £95m in 2022/23 and £26m in 2023/24, but allowable deductions of £94m and £93m respectively, largely attributable to depreciation on the club’s stadium, meant that Spurs were actually PSR net positive for those two years by some £65m. That means the club could post losses for 2024/25 of more than £250m and still be compliant.

"That, of course, won’t happen, and while losses may be coming in 2024/25, the 2025/26 revenues that will include a shot in the arm thanks to the Champions League means that Spurs have, aside from Manchester City, have the largest PSR headroom of all the Premier League clubs. Frank has a healthy budget at hand, and the confidence in the financial forecasting for the current financial year that will be had due to Champions League football means that Daniel Levy will be more inclined to loosen the purse strings.

"The willingness to skip straight to activating Gibbs-White’s release clause rather than engage in negotiating with Forest over a lesser fee should be instructive as to how Spurs can operate if the right target becomes available."

Tottenham want to proceed with their move for Morgan Gibbs-White despite it currently sitting in limbo as Nottingham Forest consider legal action over what they perceive to be an illegal approach.

Spurs were set to trigger a £60million release clause for the 25-year-old England international with a medical to be held on Friday. However, the transfer has now hit a road block as Forest have reportedly cut off communications with Tottenham at this time as they believe they did not give permission for the north London club to approach Gibbs-White despite the release clause aspect.

Forest are also said to believe the confidentiality of the release clause has been breached as Spurs' approach for Gibbs-White was exactly what was required.

football.london understands that Tottenham still want to proceed with the deal but Forest are believed to be preparing a complaint to the Premier League which could at the least delay any move from going through. It is unclear at this time whether Forest could block the transfer completely.

New Tottenham head coach Thomas Frank decided while at Brentford that Gibbs-White could be the perfect number 10 within his system, 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.

If they can still push through with the deal for the midfielder it will complete a £120million transfer hat-trick at the club with Spurs having sealed a £55million move for West Ham attacker Mohammed Kudus after completing a £5million transfer earlier this week for Japan international centre-back Kota Takai from Kawasaki Frontale.

Mohammed Kudus says he is going to put memories in the heads of the Tottenham supporters who will come to watch him play for the club after his move from West Ham.

Spurs signed the 24-year-old Ghana international from the Hammers on Thursday for £55million, the first transfer between the two clubs since 2011 when Scott Parker made the journey across the capital. Tottenham are set to follow up the move for Kudus with the £60million signing of England international Morgan Gibbs-White from Nottingham Forest after meeting the release clause in his contract.

Kudus, who will wear the No.20 after signing a contract until 2031, is excited about playing under new head coach Thomas Frank and giving the Spurs fans value for money when they pay to watch him fly towards the opposition penalty area.

"I've always wanted to play at the highest level. I know how big the club is, the history and the Champions League as well, so it’s a big moment for me," he added. "I'm finally here, I’m very happy and can't wait to start.

"The most important part of why I came here is the project and how the manager sees I can develop under him. Where he's come from and seeing the amount of talent he’s developed to become great players, it’s a big sign of why I wanted to work under him as well."

He added: "I’m a very direct winger, strong, very good in taking players on and creating chances, so there is a lot of flair in my game. I like to entertain the fans as well.

"It's about putting a memory in the heads of the fans that they have when they go back home and after the money they’ve spent to buy a ticket. The fans are really going to enjoy what I’m going to bring to the team. That's what football is about.

"Although there is also a lot of seriousness and competitiveness in the game, I still think it’s a sport I try to enjoy as much as I can and give the fans something to enjoy too. I hope fans are going to really enjoy what I’m going to bring to the team here."

Kudus is looking forward to getting back into the Champions League, having registered four goals and two assists in nine games in the competition for Ajax before his move to West Ham.

"I think the Champions League is one of the biggest stages in football. I’ve played a couple of games at Ajax so I have a bit of history and I know it’s top-level football and it requires a lot of quality and focus throughout the whole game, so I’m just hoping to use my individual ability to help the team go as far as we can," he said, before turning his attention to the Premier League.

"It takes a lot of hard work and 24/7 focus to play in a league like this. Every game requires a lot of quality and focus throughout the whole game. So I'm just here using my individual ability to help the team go as fast as we can.

"I'm very team-orientated so my personal goals lie around helping the team get as many points as we can, to be as high as we can in the Premier League and perform really well and go as far as we can in the Champions League."

This big money move to Tottenham is the next step in his relatively fledgling career and a fourth club in Europe after making the move to Denmark as a 17-year-old from Ghana's Right to Dream Academy.

"I moved to Denmark, a very big difference in culture. Played there two seasons, went to Amsterdam, two-and-a-half seasons, West Ham, then here," he said. "That's what the journey has been, using my God-given talent to have an impact on where I'm coming from and change the lives of people and my family as well."

Now Spurs supporters will be hoping Kudus can make a big impact on the north London club as well as they look to a new era under Frank.