TA: Tottenham s offer for White is actually higher than the termination fee, but Forest insists on refusing

Hupu August 15th TheAthleticUK deciphered the inside story of Morgan Gibbs White's failed transfer.

According to anonymous sources of both sides, Gibbs White is ready to transfer to Tottenham Hotspur before signing a new contract with Nottingham Forest.

Nottingham Forest believes that Tottenham's offer did not trigger a £60 million clause.

Gibbs White called Tottenham coach Thomas Frank to apologize for the failure to complete the transfer.

A 30-minute meeting with Evangelos Marinakis in Portugal helped him change his mind. CAAStellar, Tottenham Hotspur, Nottingham Forest and Gibbs White's agency, declined to comment in an interview with TheAthletic.

In fact, White's termination fee clause stipulates that if other clubs make a quotation on the termination fee, the club can negotiate with the relevant players and complete the transfer if the two parties agree.

In this case, Tottenham's offer was higher than the £60 million termination clause in Gibbs White's contract. But Forest believes that Tottenham's offer failed to meet other conditions in the terms - TheAthletic was unable to verify its details - meaning they were not obliged to accept the offer.

Tottenham later made a higher offer, but Forest held on its own and was angry that Tottenham actually knew the clause, which was supposed to be confidential.

They believe that Tottenham learned of the clause through the other party and considered reporting their competitors to the Premier League, so the transfer was completely stopped.

The midfielder met with other Forest players on July 24, and around the same time, club owner Marinakis also traveled to Portugal.

Gibbs White came on the bench in a friendly against Fulham, and Marinakis and Gibbs White met.

Nottingham Forest revealed that after 30 minutes of active communication, the midfielder decided to stay. After reaching a broad agreement, the club then communicated with Gibbs White's representatives and finally finalized the financial details of the transfer.

After that, several Nottingham Forest players revealed that they had a conversation with Gibbs White and tried their best to convince him to stay in Nottingham Forest.

Of course, there are other factors. Gibbs White’s new contract was described by Forest as a “record contract” and added a year to the previous contract that was scheduled to expire in 2027.

Gibbs-White was persuaded to stay in the forest, and he called Frank to apologize for the development, but Frank said there was no need to apologize.

Tottenham was disappointed, and club insiders said they had never seen a player who looked so eager to join but eventually changed his mind and signed a new contract. They realized it was a setback—James Madison's subsequent ACL injury made it even more important—but they insisted it did not undermine their transfer plan.

It is not clear who told Tottenham that clause - if they were indeed told. There is a situation where Tottenham put forward a offer based on its valuation without knowing the specific terms of the contract.