UPDATE — So I guess I was a little behind on the news. Gibbs-White has apparently signed the new deal through 2028 and Forest have announced it on their social media channels. The Tottenham Hotspur move is now officially off.

Incredible.

I mean, you almost have to laugh. David Ornstein is reporting in the Athletic this afternoon that £60m Tottenham Hotspur transfer target, England international, and Nottingham Forest attacking midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White is now apparently in discussions with Forest over a new and improved contract.

I don’t really need to recap all that’s gone on between Tottenham and Forest over Gibbs-White over the past few weeks, but just in case you’re reading this after coming out of a coma or something, let’s do it. Gibbs-White was the subject of a £60m transfer bid by Tottenham two weeks ago, a figure that, not-so-coincidentally, happened to meet a “super sekkrit” release clause in MGW’s contract. Gibbs-White was apparently keen on the move and a physical was scheduled, only for Forest owner Evangelos Marinakis to throw a hissy-fit, accuse Tottenham of an “illegal approach,” and threaten to report Spurs to the Premier League. It’s not clear whether he actually did that or not, but Spurs have been keeping quiet with the understanding that this was a delay tactic and MGW would be wearing Lilywhite before too long.

Gibbs-White, meanwhile, has kept his head down, reporting for Forest’s warm-weather training trip in Portugal and not demanding his transfer be upheld.

If Gibbs-White were to sign a new contract at Forest, that would pretty much put an end to everything, though one wonders if Spurs would have any recourse to sue or report Forest for meddling. Forest, meanwhile, say Spurs were underhanded on how they were able to discover “confidential details” of Gibbs-White’s contract (spoiler: it was his agent).

It’s a big mess all around.

Now, look — I wasn’t wild about the Gibbs-White purchase to begin with, not because he’s not a good player, but because I didn’t think he was necessarily worth the quoted price when there are comperable or better players available for cheaper. I’ve also long been on the “let’s just move on to other targets” bandwagon once the kerfluffle between Spurs and Forest really kicked off.

But it is ironic that the one time Tottenham actually do “just effing spend the money Levy” they STILL might not get the player they want. Silly season!