Journalist Ben Jacobs has explained what Nottingham Forest expect to happen with Morgan Gibbs-White and why the Midlands club are looking to delay his move to Tottenham as much as possible.
Forest are standing their ground and continuing to insist that Gibbs-White will not leave despite Tottenham activating the midfielder’s £60m release clause.
According to reports, Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis is prepared to take extreme measures to stop Gibbs-White joining Spurs, as he is thought to be furious that the attacking midfielder’s confidential clause was leaked to the North London side.
However, over the last few days, Forest have been credited with an interest in City attacking midfielder James McAtte and some reports have also claimed that Nuno Espirito Santo’s men could make an approach for Leicester City’s Bilal El Khannouss.
Nottingham Forest want to delay Morgan Gibbs-White to Tottenham
Jacobs has now confirmed that El Khannouss is indeed a player that the Tricky Trees are eyeing as a potential replacement for Gibbs-White.
The journalist suggested that the City Ground hierarchy may simply be buying time by delaying the England international’s move to N17 so that they can first bring a replacement through the door.
Speaking about Forest’s stance on Gibbs-White, Jacobs said on NUFC Matters YouTube channel: “It’s buying Forest time and in the time taken, Forest are looking at Morgan Gibbs-White replacements, which tells you they still think there’s a chance he could go to Spurs.
“Bilal El Khannouss, at Leicester, is one name to watch. He has a 26m euro relegation release clause, and Forest are one of at least three Premier League clubs that have expressed an interest in the Moroccan international.”
Nottingham Forest since named Gibbs-White in their starting XI to face Monaco in a pre-season friendly on Saturday, adding even more fuel to the transfer fire.
What Daniel Levy expects to happen with Gibbs-White
Some experts have said that Spurs now need to pay more than £60m to land Gibbs-White after Forest’s allegation of an illegal approach.
However, reports indicate that Daniel Levy and his lawyers expect Gibbs-White to be a Tottenham player this summer.
The North London club maintain that they did not do anything illegal and believe that the triggering of the 25-year-old’s release clause was legitimate.
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