Forest not out of the woods yet despite Gibbs-White’s extended stay

In their desperation to hang on to wantaway star Morgan Gibbs-White, Nottingham Forest may have committed a cardinal error. 

The midfielder was central to Forest’s surprise run in the English Premier League last season. They eventually finished in seventh place, and if it weren’t for a late wobble, they would have been preparing for Uefa Champions League football next season. 

Nuno Espirito Santo’s team also reached the FA Cup semi-final.

Yet, it seemed that their talisman had been lost to Forest, after Tottenham had announced that they had activated the player’s buyout clause with a £60 million (about 1.44bn) bid earlier this month.

The club’s billionaire owner, Evangelos Marinakos, refused to let their star leave without a fight, especially after the backlash from some quarters that greeted the departure of star winger Anthony Elanga to Newcastle.

Caught offside

Forest accused Spurs of making an illegal approach for the player, and of a breach of the confidentiality clause in his contract that prevented the buyout clause from being made public.

Faced with the threat of legal action, Spurs backed off and Gibbs-White signed a bumper new three-year deal with Forest in a “statement of intent” from Marinakos.

“I believe in what we’re building here,” Gibbs-White was quoted as saying, among other platitudes to the Forest project and praise for the owner’s ambitions for the club.   

I’m not sure if he was talking about his bank balance, after he became the highest-paid player at Forest, but the words had a hollow ring to them.

Where was that belief earlier in the month when he was on the brink of wearing the Spurs whites?  

This messy saga makes one think back to Arsenal's cheeky bid of £40 000 001 for Luis Suarez in 2013, believing it triggered his £40 million release clause. Liverpool, insulted by the low offer, did not accept the bid and the clause was later revealed to be a notification clause, requiring them to inform Suarez but not necessarily sell, according to reports at the time.

Kylian me softly

There is, however, another more recent transfer saga that should serve as a cautionary tale to Forest fans still celebrating the extension of Gibbs-White’s stay. 

PSG fans must have been similarly elated at the news, not too long ago, that former talisman Kylian Mbappe would be extending his stay after Real Madrid had come calling, thanks in part to the deep pockets of the club’s Saudi owners. Political pressure from the French president also played a role.

We all know how that sorry saga ended, with the player eventually leaving his beloved Paris for Madrid on a ‘free’. 

There has been a happy ending to that tale, though not for Mbappe, as a PSG team shorn of Galacticos went on to become European champions for the first time, and almost ‘world champions’ too.

Moneyball

By throwing money at the problem, Marinakos may just have delayed the inevitable.

The gamble could yet pay off, however, should Forest embark on another fairytale run next season. Without their talisman, who was linked to Manchester City at one stage, those chances are slim to none. There’s also a good chance that Gibbs-White’s head will get turned by another offer should Forest flounder.

Another player who seemed to have had his head turned by interest from another club is Yoane Wissa of Brentford. He is apparently refusing to train with his teammates or play for the club again as he tries to force through a move to Newcastle, who have had two bids rejected for the striker. 

He accuses the club of reneging on an earlier promise to allow him to leave. The Magpies, meanwhile, are said to be looking at other options. 

Yet, I wonder how they would feel if the shoe was on the other foot, and star striker Alexander Isak made similar demands.