Morgan Gibbs-White to Tottenham transfer timeline amid key Nottingham Forest update

The Tottenham Hotspur and Morgan Gibbs-White transfer saga has now rumbled on for 15 days with the Nottingham Forest midfielder currently out of the country and set to play some football.

Spurs had looked to follow up the £55million signing of Mohammed Kudus with the £60million capture of the 25-year-old England international from Forest, delivering new head coach Thomas Frank a £115million double whammy of Premier League-proven talent to bolster his options in the centre and final third of the pitch.

Instead everything suddenly went in a different direction as Forest intervened and more than two weeks on, Gibbs-White remains their player and is currently out on their summer pre-season camp in Portugal with former Spurs boss Nuno Espirito Santo and his team-mates.

football.london takes a look at the timeline of this transfer saga, how it all played out and what comes next for Tottenham, Forest and Gibbs-White.

July 10

Despite long-standing interest in the player and Frank having wanted Gibbs-White since his Wolves days, Spurs' move comes quietly, quickly and out of the blue somewhat with Manchester City previously the main club interested in the midfielder, who has two years left on his contract.

Yet on Thursday, July 10, the north London outfit make their move for the Forest man and by the end of that day are believed to be at an advanced stage of the process. As the afternoon progresses, news of a £60million release clause emerges and that is set to be a key part of the mess to come.

Gibbs-White is scheduled for a medical at Tottenham the following day but that never comes to pass.

July 11

The reason that medical never happens on July 11 is because later that previous evening it was made very clear to Gibbs-White and his representatives that Forest and their owner Evangelos Marinakis are furious about the situation. Having already sold Anthony Elanga to Newcastle for £52million, Espirito Santo's side were not planning on losing the England midfielder as well this summer.

football.london reports that the player never ends up leaving Nottingham that day and instead awaits to see how and if the new events are to be sorted.

Forest believe that not only has an illegal approach been made to their midfielder but also that the £60million release clause was meant to be confidential yet it is claimed that Spurs' approach included the exact figure required to trigger the clause.

The Midlands side cut off communication with their north London counterparts and while Tottenham still want to push through with the deal, Forest consider legal action and a potential complaint to the Premier League.

Neither club is officially commenting on the situation and the Premier League also decline to comment when footbalI.london approach them about whether a complaint has actually been lodged by Forest.

July 13

Gibbs-White is not included in Forest's squad for their pre-season 0-0 draw at Chesterfield but his attempted transfer to Tottenham was not the reason.

The former Wolves man is not involved in the match against the League Two side regardless of the current situation with Spurs because he is part of a group of players who had been on international duty last month and are not due to return to Forest until the following week.

July 14

The midfielder duly returned to Forest's training ground on Monday morning as expected to report for pre-season and the Midlands club made it very clear he had by popping his photo up on social media.

With the weekend now over, Forest are believed to have lodged their legal complaint over Tottenham's approach for Gibbs-White which the Premier League will have a duty to look into.

July 15

Now it emerges that Forest are yet to officially complain to the Premier League about Tottenham's approach for Gibbs-White but it has become a legal matter between the clubs as the transfer limbo continues.

Despite social media speculation that the player did not turn up for training on Tuesday, Gibbs-White is at Forest's training ground and takes part in training as expected.

Forest are believed to have been trying for months to tie Gibbs-White down to a bumper new contract to make him one of the club's highest earners, in exchange for removing that release clause or at least including a renegotiated one, but the midfielder has not been keen to enter into any new talks over a deal that has only two years remaining.

Even though there is an expectation from many that a move will likely eventually happen, Forest are making it clear that the player is not for sale and there is uncertainty currently over exactly how it will get resolved with no communication between the clubs at this time other than the legal proceedings.

July 16

Thomas Frank undergoes his first press conference as the head coach of Tottenham and it isn't long before a question about Gibbs-White is asked.

"I will not speak about players who are not mine. I think I have two exceptions, and they are getting older, Ronaldo and Messi. The rest I will just speak about the players who are inside Tottenham," says the Dane.

Frank admits he wants more new signings though, saying: "No doubt if you want to compete in all tournaments you need a competitive squad, a robust squad. There’s a lot of competitive players in the squad. It’s an exciting squad. There’s no doubt the club is in the market and looking. I would like to speak when a player comes in and not about the market."

On the same day, it emerges that Forest have written to both Spurs and Gibbs-White's agent, putting both parties on legal notice and reportedly reminding them of their obligations and spelling out how they believe both Spurs and the player's representatives have breached Premier League rules and the terms of the player's contract.

July 17

The Gibbs-White stand-off continues as he plays in the first half in Forest's 0-0 friendly against Monaco. As the 25-year-old comes off the pitch at half-time he applauds the Forest fans and makes a heart gesture towards them with his hands as they chant his name.

His team-mate Ola Aina tells Sky Sports: "Morgan is a professional. I don't really know the ins and outs of that, but he was here today, he was playing, training with us, staying fit as normal. At the end of the day we're all professionals. We've got a job to do and that's what Morgan's doing right now, keeping it professional."

Forest are set to travel to Portugal two days later for a pre-season camp and unless something shifts dramatically with one of the three parties involved in the next 24 hours then Gibbs-White will be with Espirito Santo's men.

July 19

Something does prevent Gibbs-White from departing for Portugal with the rest of the Forest squad but it's not related to the transfer situation in any way and the reason for his absence was communicated to the club.

The previous day his pregnant fiancée and influencer Britney De Villiers had shared a photo to her followers on Instagram from a hospital bed while speaking about the stress and difficulties involved with a high-risk pregnancy.

The expectation at Forest is that Gibbs-White will join up with the squad in Portugal later in the week and that nothing has changed in regards to any potential move to Spurs.

July 23

Gibbs-White flies out on the evening of July 23 and the following day is in Portugal to train with his Forest team-mates and boss Espirito Santo.

The midfielder is still believed to want the move to Tottenham and had previously held talks with the club after his return, but all the suggestions from inside Forest suggest he has been a model professional in terms of his training levels.

July 24

Gibbs-White makes his first post on social media since the whole transfer saga began but contain yourself, it's nothing remotely to do with it.

He posted on Instagram, tagging in clothing brand Harvey Nichols, as well as Harvey Nichols Menswear, sharing a video of himself in a number of the brand's pieces with the caption "My High Summer Edit with @harveynichols @harveynicholsmen #ad". Cue plenty of replies about his transfer situation.

July 26

The 25-year-old is set for more match action on Saturday evening as Forest take on fellow Premier League side Fulham in Faro at SC Farense’s Estadio de Sao Luis.

All eyes will be on if Gibbs-White does play and if so whether he avoids injury as we await news on whether Tottenham will attempt to push through this transfer one way or another.

If Gibbs-White is to leave, Forest are said to have preferred him moving to Manchester City with James McAtee coming in the other direction, a transfer that would help both teams from a PSR perspective when it comes to those financial fair play regulations. It remains to be seen whether Pep Guardiola's side remain interested though after their purchases already this summer.

Tottenham could look to smooth things over with a bigger bid to avoid the legal issues or push through with their original plan as they feel they did nothing wrong.

Joao Palhinha interest, Morgan Gibbs-White situation and Thomas Frank gets to work - click here to listen to the latest episode of Gold & Guest Talk Tottenham! Or click here to watch on YouTube!