Tottenham learn ‘priority’ target’s asking price is ‘not what they expected’ amid Newcastle interest

According to reports, Nottingham Forest’s asking price for Morgan Gibbs-White is higher than Tottenham Hotspur expected it to be.
Forest paid an initial fee of around £25m to sign Gibbs-White from Wolves ahead of their return to the Premier League in 2022. It is understood that his fee could rise to around £42m with add-ons.
Spurs ‘priority’ target
The 24-year-old has arguably been Forest’s top performer this season as he has grabbed four goals and six assists in his 34 appearances across all competitions.
Gibbs-White’s form has not been above on its own to keep Forest away from the relegation picture as they are 17th in the Premier League after their 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace. They are level on points with 18th-placed Luton Town but they have a slightly better goal difference.
Forest were recently docked four points for breaching the Premier League’s Profit and Sustainability rules and it has been reported that they ‘could be forced’ to sell Gibbs-White and Spurs have earmarked him as a ‘priority target’ ahead of the summer.
Tottenham paid around £50m to sign Brennan Johnson from Forest last summer and Ange Postecoglou’s side are one of this season’s biggest spenders in the Premier League. They have invested around £230m with James Maddison, Pedro Porro and Micky van de Ven among their other notable additions.
Given Forest’s financial situation, Spurs may have been hoping that Gibbs-White would be available for a cut-price but according to Football Insider, this is not the case.
It is claimed that Gibbs-White’s valuation is ‘not what Tottenham expected’ as they ‘will have to pay upwards of £50million if they want to sign the Nottingham Forest star’.
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Gibbe-White ‘could be sacrificed’
The report adds: ‘Gibbs-White is included in the list of players who could be sacrificed by Forest this summer with the 24-year-old seen as one of the club’s most valuable assets.
‘Tottenham hoped they could get Gibbs-White for less than Johnson, but his club will hold out for a bigger price and bumper profit on what they paid to Wolves.
‘Football Insider revealed that Tottenham are currently in pole position to sign Gibbs-White this summer after scouting him for the past two years.’
Regarding the competition Spurs are likely to face in the race to land Gibbs-White, journalist Pete O’Rouke told Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast: “It won’t just be Tottenham who will be interested in Morgan Gibbs-White if he is on the market this summer – Newcastle will also be interested.
“It will be a similar sort of price tag to the £50million paid for Brennan Johnson and possibly slightly more as well.“
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