Former Everton and Aston Villa CEO, Keith Wyness, has reacted to reports of Tottenham Hotspur reigniting their interest in Morgan Gibbs-White, 12 months on from their failed move for the midfielder.
Tottenham fans will remember too well that Nottingham Forest prevented Spurs from landing Gibbs-White last summer despite the Lilywhites activating his confidential release clause.
That proved extremely frustrating for the North Londoners, and it proved a huge coup for Forest, with the 26-year-old scoring 15 goals in the Premier League last term, without which the Midlands side may have gone down.
It has emerged over recent weeks that Tottenham have revived their interest in Gibbs-White, who has controversially been left out of the England squad for the World Cup.
Morgan Gibbs-White warned to avoid move to Tottenham
Keith Wyness believes that Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis is unlikely to let the former Wolves man leave, given that the club may already be losing Elliot Anderson this summer.
The former Everton chief also suggested that Gibbs-White would be better off waiting and seeing how Tottenham’s rebuild unfolds under Roberto De Zerbi before greenlighting a transfer.
Wyness told Football Insider: “The shy and retiring Mr Marinakis will have something to say about it, no doubt about it. He certainly saw Tottenham off the last time. He’s personally involved in all the transfer dealings this summer. Elliott Anderson will be one who might be going, would Gibbs-White go as well?
“I don’t see Gibbs-White going even though Spurs may have an interest, because Spurs’ paybook is actually a little bit shallower than a lot of people think. Gibbs-White is going to want to see the rebuilding of the squad.
“That’s what Marinakis is counting on, that he can show that there’s going to be a Forest coming back to when they were challenging in the top half. I think he’d be better off staying at Forest if there is a revitalised squad going forward rather than jumping to Spurs, which is going to be a very interesting work in progress, to say the least.”
Arsenal could battle Spurs for Gibbs-White
It has emerged over recent days that Arsenal could also turn their attention to the Forest midfielder after being met with resistance by Aston Villa in their efforts to land Morgan Rogers.
That update, which came from The Sun, suggested that Paris Saint-Germain are also keeping a close eye on Gibbs-White’s situation.
The Lilywhites would thus certainly have their work cut out in convincing the 26-year-old to come to N17 even if Forest decide to sell.
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