Nottingham Forest exit 'inevitable', trio lead chase amid Tottenham reveal

Nottingham Forest will find it impossible to keep hold of Morgan Gibbs-White beyond the end of the season if they suffer relegation from the Premier League.

Growing interest in the 25-year-old’s signature, including from the likes of Man City, Tottenham and Aston Villa, mean he will have plenty of options when the window opens.

As I revealed on the latest edition of Football Insider’s Transfer Insider podcast, Gibbs-White does not want to play in the Championship and will seek a move away.

Forest currently sit just three points outside the relegation zone, and face a difficult run of fixtures, while teams around them continue to pick up points.

They will be hoping their decision to sack Sean Dyche and appoint Vitor Pereira is an inspired one, with major complications in store if they are relegated.

Nottingham Forest may be forced to lose Morgan Gibbs-White

Gibbs-White turned down interest from Tottenham last summer in favour of remaining at the City Ground, but would be unlikely to do so again this year.

Interest from clubs with ambitions of winning trophies and competing in the Champions League mean it is inevitable he will leave Forest if they go down.

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That interest is set to emerge regardless of whether they are relegated, however, and the England international could have a difficult decision to make.

Speaking on the Transfer Insider podcast, I explained: “Yeah, it’s gonna be an interesting one with regards to Morgan Gibbs-White’s long term future.

“If Nottingham Forest were to go down, it would be inevitable I think that he would move on. I don’t think he’s keen to play in the Championship.

“Obviously, he came very close to a move away from the City Ground after Tottenham triggered his release clause, before he eventually signed a new deal until 2028.

“Although Forest won’t want to lose him, I’m sure they’ll probably will be expecting interest in him.

“There’s obviously talk that Tottenham could rekindle their interest, Man City have been long-term admirers of the player, and there’s been talk that Villa could be interested in Gibbs-White.

“There will be a number of Premier League clubs who will be interested in the former Wolves man.”

Could Aston Villa step up efforts to sign Gibbs-White?

Interest from both Tottenham and Man City in Gibbs-White has been long-standing, with both clubs having plotted his signing last summer.

The interest from Villa, though, has emerged in recent weeks as they make contingency plans in case they are forced to part ways with Morgan Rogers this summer.

Football Insider revealed on 13 February that Aston Villa want Gibbs-White to replace Rogers if the latter’s release clause is triggered by one of the interested clubs.

The 23-year-old remains a crucial part of Unai Emery’s plans for the future, but growing interest in his signature has forced Villa to look at alternatives.

Rogers’ performances for Villa over the last two seasons have led to interest from some of the world’s biggest clubs, with Chelsea among his leading admirers.

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