Tottenham Hotspur narrowly missed out on qualification for the 2024/25 Champions League as they finished fifth in the Premier League this season. The Lilywhites ended the campaign just two points behind fourth-placed Aston Villa and will rue the points they dropped that ultimately cost them a place in Europe's premier competition.
Ange Postecoglou and Daniel Levy are now tasked with navigating the upcoming summer transfer window with the aim of building a squad that can secure a top-four finish in the division next term.
The Australian head coach will be looking to bolster his options across the park and he is already reportedly looking at one player from a fellow Premier League side to add to his attacking arsenal.
Tottenham add Premier League magician to shortlist
According to Football Insider, Spurs have added Nottingham Forest attacking midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White to their list of targets for the summer. The report claims that the former England U21 international is now on their shortlist with Ange demanding improvements to his squad.
It states that their interest in a transfer for the former Wolverhampton Wanderers prodigy is 'strong' as Postecoglou lines up a possible swoop for the young star.
Football Insider reveals that the Lilywhites boss is looking to reshuffle his options in the middle of the park and that Gibbs-White is just one of a number of players to have caught his eye. The outlet also claims that it would take a fee within the region of £60m to convince the Tricky Trees to part ways with their star attacker this summer.
It remains to be seen whether or not Spurs are prepared to pay that much money to land the English wizard to add to their midfield ranks over the coming months.
Why Gibbs-White is perfect for Spurs
One thing that was missing from Tottenham's midfield during the 2023/24 campaign was an attacking threat from midfield not named James Maddison. When the former Leicester City midfielder was absent or not at his best, Postecoglou did not have any reliable alternative options to make an impact at the top end of the midfield from the middle of the park.
Outside of Maddison, who racked up four goals and nine assists, no other central midfielder produced more than three goals or three assists in the division.
Appearances
37
Goals
5
Assists
10
Big chances created
16
Key passes per game
2.0
As you can see in the table above, Gibbs-White contributed to 15 goals in the Premier League for Forest, which was more than any central or attacking midfielder managed for Spurs.
The 24-year-old magician, who was once described as being "incredibly underrated" by U23 scout Antonio Mango, scored one more goal and assisted one more than Maddison did in the top-flight, suggesting that he may even come in as an upgrade on his compatriot.
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Gibbs-White, who ranked within the top 9% of midfielders in the league for Expected Assisted Goals per 90 (0.24), would arrive as a fantastic alternative to the former Norwich whiz and add another attacking weapon to Postecoglou's arsenal in the Premier League.