Morgan Gibbs-White has been the talk of the transfer window this week.
Having impressed with Nottingham Forest last season, a campaign in which the midfielder helped his club achieve European football with his seven goals and 10 assists, it was expected that the 25-year-old would depart the City Ground ahead of the 2025/26 campaign.
It looked like the Englishman would be heading to the Etihad Stadium at the start of the transfer window; however, Man City would not sign Gibbs-White as they didn’t want to match the £70m asking price that was being quoted to them.
Therefore, it might have come as a surprise to City when Tottenham activated the £60m release clause in the Nottingham Forest star’s contract, but there may be a clear reason as to why the North London club knew about it.
Morgan Gibbs-White on the floor during Aston Villa v Nottingham Forest.
Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
Agent tipped Tottenham off about Morgan Gibbs-White’s release clause
With Man City out of the race and pre-season around the corner, it is now a crucial time in the transfer window if Gibbs-White wants to secure a move away from Nottingham Forest.
This may be the reason the player’s agent told Tottenham about the release clause in the 25-year-old’s contract, which is the reason the North London club knew about it and Man City didn’t, suggests Manchester Evening News reporter Simon Bajkowski.
More Man City News
“But yeah, strange one. It kind of felt like Forest had been kind of open to selling Gibbs-White for the right price,” Bajowski said on Talking City – Manchester City Podcast.
“It certainly came as a surprise to a lot of people that there was a release clause. And I don’t know, maybe it’s come as a surprise to Forest that Tottenham knew about the release clause.
“We’re putting two and two together. That suggests maybe that they think the agent has maybe tipped Tottenham off. Because when City were interested, the figure that seemed to be bandied about was £100m, which is clearly unnecessary if he was available for £60m.
“But again, it’s not, you know, it’s hardly unusual for clubs to talk to the agent of a player before making an official approach, is it? It might not be legal in the football world, but it does happen.”
Things might have been different this summer had Man City known about the £60m release clause, as Hugo Viana is a big fan of Gibbs-White.
However, Tijjani Reijnders was added to Pep Guardiola’s squad instead, so things seem to have worked out for the Manchester club.
Tottenham are confident Morgan Gibbs-White deal will get done
Man City were given a lifeline in the Gibbs-White saga on Friday, if they had a remaining interest in the 25-year-old, as it was reported that Nottingham Forest consider their deal with Tottenham to be off, as they suspect Spurs of making an illegal approach to the Englishman.
Player Games Goals Assists Minutes
Morgan Gibbs-White 38 7 10 3142
Tijjani Reijnders 57 15 5 4861
Morgan Gibbs-White and Tijjani Reijnders’ 24/25 stats
Despite this, The Telegraph are reporting that the North London club are confident that they will complete their £60m deal for Gibbs-White, despite Nottingham Forest trying to delay the process.
This would be a great move for both Tottenham and Gibbs-White, and if the transfer gets over the line, it could be said that everyone got what they wanted in the end, although those at Forest may argue that.