Tottenham look to have a free run at signing Morgan Gibbs-White from Nottingham Forest, if the legal complications around the transfer are ironed out.
That is because Manchester City have no plans to make a move for the Forest midfielder this summer, having previously been interested in signing the 25-year-old.
Spurs looked to have tied up a deal for Gibbs-White a week-and-a-half ago when, out of the blue, it emerged that they had met his release clause and were arranging a medical with the Forest man.
However, Tottenham soon ran into problems, with Forest threatening not only Spurs, but Gibbs-White’s agent with legal action over what they deemed to be an illegal approach for their player.
The Midlands side believed an illegal approach had been made and that the confidential details of the midfielder’s release clause had been disclosed with suggestions that Spurs made the exact bid required to trigger it.
The two clubs are no longer in conversations, with Forest having spent many months trying to convince Gibbs-White to extend his contract at the City Ground and in so doing increase his release clause – something he has been unwilling to do.
There was also the hope from Forest that by delaying a move to Spurs, another club could enter the race to sign Gibbs-White and therefore drive the asking price up.
Tottenham remain hopeful of getting a deal over the line eventually, but the impasse raised concerns that another club could enter the race and steal a march on signing Gibbs-White.
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City were named as a potential suitor, given their previous interest in the attacking midfielder, but our friends at the Manchester Evening News report that City have no plans to hijack Spurs’ move.
The Blues held an interest in Gibbs-White towards the end of last season, but have since signed Rayan Cherki from Lyon for £31million and Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan for £46.3million.
Having completed those deals, City are happy with their midfield strength and are now focusing on exits. Kalvin Phillips, Jack Grealish, and James McAtee are set to move on. There is also a chance that one of Nico Gonzalez or Ilkay Gundogan will depart.
That means if Tottenham can open talks with Forest again, they should be able to see a deal through quite quickly.
