Nottingham Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis has reacted after handing Tottenham Hotspur a huge blow by tying Morgan Gibbs-White down to a new contract.
Over the last few weeks, many Spurs fans were furious with Evangelos Marinakis for his tactics to delay Gibbs-White’s move to Tottenham after the Lilywhites had activated the midfielder’s release clause over two and a half weeks ago.
Many were scratching their heads as to what the Greek businessman’s plan was, with some outlets even speculating that Marinakis was simply delaying the Gibbs-White transfer until Forest signed a replacement.
However, the 57-year-old has had the last laugh, with Gibbs-White signing a new contract at the City Ground on Saturday.
Evangelos Marinakis reacts after getting one over Daniel Levy
One undoubtedly has to chalk this off as a big win for the Forest owner, who seems to have pulled a masterclass after the midfielder’s release clause had been met and the player expressed a desire to move to Spurs.
Marinakis has confirmed that there was ‘significant interest’ in Gibbs-White’s services this summer and admitted that he is delighted to retain the former Wolves man as part of the Forest project.
He said (via The Sun): “Morgan is a special player – not just in terms of talent, but character and mentality. He represents everything we want this football club to be: he is a winner, talented, ambitious, fearless, and proud.
“There was significant interest from various clubs, but we were determined to build our future with Morgan at the heart of it. I promised our fans we would not only compete, but grow stronger and stronger every season. Today is another big step in that journey.”
Tottenham must move on from Morgan Gibbs-White
From a Spurs perspective, the last two weeks have been dominated by the Gibbs-White saga, with the club seemingly focusing all their efforts on getting the deal over the line.
Now that this is over, one would expect the Lilywhites to step up their plans to strengthen Thomas Frank’s squad, and the club will need to make up for lost time.
It will be interesting to see who Spurs turn to next. If reports over the last few days are to be believed, Tottenham have already begun efforts to sign a number six.
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