Forest not out of 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.

- ROWAN CALLAGHAN

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 semifinal.

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.

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.