The story
Tottenham have set their sights on a possible £125M January move for Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White, according to reports, reviving a pursuit that came close to completion during the 2025 summer transfer window. The England international stayed, Forest kept building, and now Spurs are preparing to test that resolve again in the winter window.
A £125M January bid would be one of the largest mid-season purchases in Premier League history. Clubs simply do not spend that money in January unless the player is the final piece, and the reporting suggests Tottenham view Gibbs-White exactly that way.
Why the number keeps climbing
Gibbs-White turned 26 this year and is in his peak production window. He is coming off his most productive spell at Forest, where he has been the creative hub of the most surprising project in the league: promotion, European football, and an FA Cup run built largely on his output between the lines.
The profile is the modern Premier League number ten: press-resistant in tight spaces, vertical in possession, two-footed in the final third, and durable. Every season his goal involvement numbers have grown at Forest, and the 2025-26 campaign was his best yet.
What £125M actually buys
For Forest, the calculation is brutal. Their financial model depends on selling stars at peak value, and no sale in the club’s modern history would come close to this figure. For Tottenham, the price buys a proven Premier League creator at his physical peak with no adaptation risk, which is precisely why January premiums exist.
The £125M question is not whether Gibbs-White is worth it. It is whether Nottingham Forest can afford to say no twice.
The risks
Three, and they are real:
- Forest's resistance. They rejected the 2025 approach and their negotiating position strengthens if they are competing in Europe come January.
- Squad math. A mid-season arrival of this scale disrupts a settled Tottenham midfield hierarchy.
- Price creep. Reports of £125M have a way of becoming £140M by the time agents, add-ons and sell-on clauses are negotiated.
AI Verdict: Watch
The move makes football sense for both the player and the buying club. Whether it happens in January depends entirely on Forest’s season, and that is a variable nobody controls. This is the headline file of the winter window, and it will dominate every window until it resolves.
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