Nottinghamshire

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BBC Radio Nottingham's Colin Fray says it appears Forest "aren't looking for a quick resolution" to Tottenham's approach for Morgan Gibbs-White.

Forest are considering legal action against the north London club as it is believed they are looking at whether a specific confidentiality agreement in the £60m release clause in Gibbs-White's contract has been breached.

"It is certainly one that Forest could have been doing without and one that has got the fans worried," Fray said on the Shut Up And Show More Football podcast.

"On the back of the exit of Anthony Elanga to Newcastle, fans were willing to accept that a big sale might be necessary this summer because that's life in the days of PSR and the Premier League. Although disappointed with that possibility and subsequent reality, people accepted that.

"But, to have this right on the heel of the Elanga deal caused a lot of concern among supporters, and still is. It is a moving situation and things may change quickly - but it is messy, it is horrible, Forest don't want to be there in that situation. I'm fairly sure Gibbs-White doesn't either."

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Gibbs-White returned to training with Forest this week, adding to the speculation surrounding his future.

"It's going to be interesting to see how it plays out from here," added Fray.

"Most thought it would be ironed out and the transfer go through. Not many were expecting him back at training and here he is. That is another twist in the story.

"Forest have set their stall out that they aren't looking for a quick resolution. They want to keep him."

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A new episode of Shut Up And Show More Football is now available to listen to and download on BBC Sounds.

BBC Radio Nottingham's David Jackson and Colin White discuss Morgan Gibbs-White's future amid dramatic developments in his potential move to Tottenham and whether Forest will be in the Europa League next season after Uefa's ruling on Crystal Palace.

Listen to the full episode on BBC Sounds

Nottingham Forest have made Aston Villa and England Under-21s midfielder Jacob Ramsey their top target this window. (Telegraph - subscription required), external

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While Tottenham's move for Morgan Gibbs-White remains uncertain as Nottingham Forest consider legal action over Spurs' approach for the midfielder, it is understandable why the club are so keen to land him.

The 25-year-old's talent has been clear to see after establishing himself as one of the Reds' star players since his move from Wolves in August 2022, consistently providing an attacking outlet.

Gibbs-White contributed seven goals and eight assists in 34 league games last season as he helped Forest secure European football.

In doing so, he became the only player to tally 10 or more goal involvements in three consecutive Premier League seasons for the club. He was also directly involved in more than a quarter of the Reds' goals in the league in 2024-25 (15 of 58 – 25.9%).

The England international may not always top the stats for goals scored or assists provided, but it is his overall contributions to the team finding the net that stands out.

He was Forest's second top scorer after Chris Wood (20) and had the second most assists after Anthony Elanga (11), but, with 51, Gibbs-White created more chances for the side than any other player.

However, this was not just a one-off in an overall impressive campaign for East Midland's club.

The midfielder has regularly been the most creative player in the Forest team as they have battled to stay in the top flight, creating the most chances for them in 2022-23 (66) and 2023-24 (71).

His importance to the attack is emphasised further by him playing a role in the most open-play shot-ending sequences in 2024-25 for the club (148), whether that be a shot, creating the chance or the build up to the shot (as shown in the graph).

And when it came to getting the ball up the pitch last term, no other Forest player had more progressive passes than Gibbs-White's 125. In fact, no team-mate reached 100, and the only Spurs player to make more was Pedro Porro (129).

Playing 82% of his minutes in a number 10 role last season means Gibbs-White could provide tough competition for the likes of James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski in the Tottenham side if he was to make the move.

But, having missed just eight league games since the start of the 2022-23 campaign, his reliability may be more valuable than any other stat in a team that struggled so much with injuries over the past year.

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Nick Mashiter
BBC Sport football news reporter

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BBC Sport football news reporter Nick Mashiter has been answering your questions.

Andrew asked: Why are Nottingham Forest offloading their best players? They don't need the money, they have European football. It doesn't make any sense.

Nick answered: With Forest and Anthony Elanga and Morgan Gibbs-White - to a certain extent - every player has got a price.

With Elanga, they didn't want to sell, he didn't push for a move and he was obviously key to what Forest did last season and would have been going forward, but £55m - close to £60m with add-ons - is too good to turn down.

Effectively, this is a player that they signed for £13.5m from Manchester United two seasons ago so it represents a huge profit.

And with Gibbs-White, obviously there is a release clause there so the club are relatively powerless to stop that going through.

We are seeing Forest unhappy with how things have gone with Tottenham and they have been considering their legal options. But, if there is a release clause there, it is going to be very difficult to keep him unless the player says he does not want to go.

It sounds very very boring, but Forest know exactly what they are doing.

It sounds strange when you are selling two of your best players, but they have targets - long-term targets in the likes of PSV Eindhoven's Johan Bakayoko, James McAtee of Manchester City and Liverpool's Harvey Elliott.

Bakayoko was on the list when they signed Elanga initially. So, I think it is a case of 'trust the process' with Forest because over the past couple of years they have shown they know what they are doing.

It is worth pointing out that Forest have always improved on what they had. Elanga and Callum Hudson-Odoi came in for a combined £16.5m and they replaced Brennan Johnson, who went to Tottenham for about £47.5m.

They have improved since then. That was two years ago and they have done the same. Orel Mangala left, Elliot Anderson came in. Moussa Niakhate left and Murillo came in.

So they have always improved on the players they have lost.

Read more of the Q&A with our football news reporting team here

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Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White trained with the team on Tuesday as a potential move to Tottenham remains up in the air.

BBC Sport reported on Thursday that the 25-year-old was set to have a medical on Friday as Spurs looked to trigger his release clause.

Forest are considering legal action against the north London club as it is believed they are looking at whether a specific confidentiality agreement in the £60m release clause in Gibbs-White's contract has been breached.

Under Premier League rules clubs are not allowed to talk to players under contract with another team unless they have permission.

Tottenham are aware of the situation but are still hopeful a deal can be concluded.

Gibbs-White returned to pre-season training on Monday and again trained on Tuesday, despite reports to the contrary on social media.

The England international has two years left on his City Ground contract after joining Forest from Wolves in a move worth up to £42.5m in August 2022.

He has made 118 appearances in three years with the Reds, scoring 18 goals and providing 28 assists.