NOTTINGHAM FOREST have now made their legal complaint over Tottenham’s pursuit of Morgan Gibbs-White.
The Midlands outfit are arguing they did not give permission to approach their talisman.
Gibbs-White finds himself in the centre of a legal storm[/caption]
The creative midfielder was seen returning to training on Monday morning[/caption]
While Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis also wants to know how Spurs chairman Daniel Levy was made aware of a £60million release clause in the England man’s contract.
Gibbs-White had been expected to have a Spurs medical on Friday – until Forest’s furious response put the block on the switch, temporarily at least.
The 25-year-old reported back for Forest pre-season training just before 9am on Monday morning.
Spurs still hope to follow up last week’s £55million signing of Mohammed Kudus from West Ham with Gibbs-White, who has two years remaining on his Forest contract.
But right now the midfielder remains in limbo, waiting to see if the dispute can be resolved to allow him to complete the move to North London.
Recently-appointed Spurs boss Thomas Frank sees Gibbs-White, who has four caps for England, as the kind of dynamic No10 he wants in his new-look side.
Frank wanted Gibbs-White during his time in charge at Brentford, whom he left last month to succeed Ange Postecoglou at Tottenham.
Spurs are understood to have been notified by Forest of their objection, while the Premier League are obliged to look into any formal complaint that is made.
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Gibbs-White has become a crucial creative machine in the midfield for Forest[/caption]
Gibbs-White has battled his way into contention for the England set-up, and a big move to the Europa League champions could only help his case[/caption]
The Gibbs-White transfer is still expected to get done eventually but Marinakis’ outfit will not make it easy for Tottenham.
Forest have been keen to tie Gibbs-White down to a new deal for the past 12 months, and are believed to have been open to either increasing the release clause figure or even removing it altogether in fresh terms.
But Gibbs-White is understood to have shown little interest in extending his deal, which still has two years to run, during that time.
Forest fans are understandably concerned at the prospect of losing two of their best players, with Anthony Elanga already sold last week to Newcastle for £55m.
While Forest were loath to lose Elanga, they felt that fee was too good to turn down for the Swede.
Marinakis remains fiercely ambitious though and is expected to reinvest any funds raised back into the team ahead of the club’s first European campaign in 30 years.
