(Credit: Imago / Hasan Karim - Breaking Media)

Ben Palmer

Fri 8 August 2025 7:00, UK

Morgan Gibbs-White will reconsider an exit from Nottingham Forest in January with a place in England’s World Cup squad in mind.

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That is the view of former Southampton and Three Lions striker Matt Le Tissier, who told Football Insider that the midfielder may decide “I really want to go to the World Cup”, and push for a winter exit.

Gibbs-White’s £60million release clause was triggered by Tottenham on 10 July and a medical with the North London team was booked for the next day.

Morgan Gibbs-White’s stats in the 2024/25 season.

(Credit: Getty Images)

But Forest intervened, claiming Spurs had obtained knowledge of the clause illegally and the transfer was put on hold.

Gibbs-White then made the decision to re-sign with Nottingham Forest on a new deal that is thought to have no buy-out clause, putting an end to any hopes that Tottenham had of signing the 25-year-old.

This article contains exclusive comment from former Southampton and England striker Matt Le Tissier.

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Gibbs-White was included in Thomas Tuchel’s first England squad in March, but only after Cole Palmer dropped out through injury.

With the 25-year-old on the fringes of the Three Lions’ set-up, Le Tissier told Football Insider that the midfielder will base a January transfer decision on his side’s form, whilst revealing from his own experience how difficult it was to get into the national team’s fold when you are not playing for one of the biggest teams.

He said: “I think if he’s got those realistic ambitions for England, then I know only too well that it’s much harder to get an England squad if you’re not playing at one of the bigger clubs.

(Credit Imago)

“I thought that might have come into his thinking a little bit this summer, but things change very quickly in football and you never know what happens in January or at the end of the season.

“Depending on how the season’s going at Forest, I think if they have a season like they did last year, which was pretty unbelievable really, then I think he’ll probably be more than happy to stay because he’ll have the profile.

“But if they struggle a little bit, and he’s not in England contention, then he might look at it again in January and go, I really want to go to the World Cup, I need to get away.

That could come into it.”

The Tricky Trees may have already accepted that Gibbs-White’s long-term future lies away from the City Ground.

Finance expert Stefan Borson told Football Insider that James McAtee will “end up at Nottingham Forest” this summer.

James McAtee is expected to leave Man City this summer.

(Credit: Imago)

The Man City attacking midfielder is a natural fit as a successor to Gibbs-White in the number 10 position in Nuno Espirito Santo’s set-up.

Signing McAtee now would allow him to become accustomed to his new side, then allowing Forest to sell their current star in January.

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