Morgan Gibbs-White not in Nottingham Forest squad for Portugal amidst Tottenham Hotspur interest
Tottenham Hotspur have been looking to make Morgan Gibbs-White come to Hotspur Way in the ongoing summer transfer window, but what was supposed to be a simple release clause trigger has turned into a massive mess, and in what will come as music to the ears of the North Londoners supporters, the former Wolves midfielder was missing from Nottingham Forest’s pre-season trip to Portugal.
The North Londoners triggered the midfielder’s £60m release clause nearly a couple of weeks ago, but the chiefs at City Ground pushed back hard, insisting that the release clause in Gibbs-White’s contract wasn’t meant to be known publicly, with their owner Evangelos Marinakis reportedly blocking the entire transaction, leaving things in limbo.
No Gibbs-White in Nottingham’s trip to Portugal
And now as Forest flies to Portugal to play in pre-season friendlies against Fulham and Estoril, they didn’t have Gibbs-White aboard for those friendlies.
But according to John Percy, the fact that MGW is not with the squad comes down to “personal reasons”, with the former Wolves maestro expected to join Nuno Espírito Santo’s roster later this week. But yet despite the reasons, the fact that he is not there has added a lot of fuel to the fire as Tottenham continue to push to conclude this transfer and bring MGW to Hotspur Way. And his absence has only ramped up the speculations of a move to N17, given that the 2000-born England international wants to move to Tottenham.
Amid all the uncertainties regarding Gibbs-White, Forest are looking for possible replacements, with Man City academy graduate James McAtee being subject to links with a move to City Ground. While McAtee is available for only £20m given that he enters the final 12 months of his contract with his current employers, Bundesliga clubs including RB Leipzig, Frankfurt and Dortmund have claimed their interest in his signature alongside Forest.
Nottingham line up McAtee as possible Gibbs-White replacement
But if Nottingham Forest are to get McAtee’s transfer beyond the line, it can be a signal that MGW is closing in on a possible departure behind the scenes, given that both the players occupy similar zones on the pitch.
While the claims for Gibbs-White missing training are “personal reasons”, at this moment this one does give you a vibe that a transfer is in the final stages, especially with McAtee being lined up for a possible move. So if they did really plan on keeping Gibbs-White, they wouldn’t be going this deep in talks to bring in a number ten this summer.
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