Tottenham managed to embarrass themselves after failing to land Nottingham Forest star Morgan Gibbs-White
The last few weeks of the transfer window have been somewhat of a rollercoaster for Tottenham. The Lilywhites were on the verge of completing a deal to land Nottingham Forest star Morgan Gibbs-White for the upcoming season. But for one reason or the other, the England international decided to stay put and snub the North London club in the process.
The failed transfer ha turned out to be an embarrassment for Spurs as they looked to hide face amidst all the drama. The Lilywhites triggered Morgan Gibbs-White’s £60m release clause earlier last month, expecting Nottingham Forest to accept the terms and allow the player to have a conversation with the North London club. And it was being reported that the player was keen on a move after agreeing personal terms with Tottenham.
However, the transfer saga took a U-turn when Forest accused Spurs of breaching the confidential details of the contractual agreement. The Nottingham-based club were convinced that the Lilywhites did not play by the book, and were threatened to report Spurs to the Premier League for breaching the agreement.
A second bid for Morgan Gibbs-White was made?
Amidst all the alleged accusations and with the media lingering around like a fly on the wall, Spurs were still confident about landing Morgan Gibbs-White. As per the Athletic, the Lilywhites sent in another bid that exceeded the first one in the hopes of it getting accepted. Triggering the release clause basically meant that Spurs were clear to get in touch with the player.
But the report also states that Nottingham Forest had not accepted any bids, despite Morgan Gibbs-White making it clear that he wanted to move to pastures new. Forest questioned how the Lilywhites managed to find out about the release clause as it was confidential. So, accepting a second bid made no sense as it was clearly a deviation tactic used by the North London club.
In the end, Nottingham Forest managed to convince their star player to stay put for the upcoming season. As per the Athletic, Morgan Gibbs-White later had a phone call with Thomas Frank and the England international apologised to the Spurs manager for how the transfer saga panned out. No one would want to be the Danish tactician in this situation, but the report states that there were no hard feelings involved.
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It is not common for a player transfer to pan out this way, especially if the player is keen to switch clubs and the release clause is triggered. What was supposed to be a clear-cut signing for Tottenham, turned out to be a media mess and one to look back on in the coming years.
So, what exactly convinced Morgan Gibbs-White to snub Spurs after all that happened? As per the Athletic, it turns out that the England international sat down with Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis and the pair had a conversation about the 25-year-old’s future. The meeting went for thirty long minutes, which in hindsight is something that was necessary.
The Forest owner managed to convince Gibbs-White that his future belonged at City Ground. After the meeting, the England international also signed a new contract extension with the club after sorting out the financial details. It is fair to say that Nottingham Forest came out on top in this transfer saga, with Spurs still looking to find a new #10.
A transfer saga that we will look back on? You bet we will.