Tottenham at risk of missing out on ideal Morgan Gibbs-White alternative

With no climax to the Morgan Gibbs-White transfer saga imminent, some might say it's time for Spurs to go down a different route.

However, the club look set to miss out on an excellent alternative to the England international, who didn't fly to Portugal with the rest of the Nottingham Forest squad for their pre-season tour on Monday.

Reports suggest that Gibbs-White's absence is due to a personal issue, as opposed to any transfer speculation. He's expected to fly out later this week. Spurs are still pushing to complete a deal, but patience is starting to wear thin among some online supporters.

All has been quiet on the Western Front over the past week, with the Gibbs-White saga seemingly stalling the club's progress in the transfer market after completing deals for Kota Takai and Mohammed Kudus, who shone in the first pre-season outing of the summer against Reading on Saturday.

Tottenham risk missing out on Xavi Simons as Morgan Gibbs-White deal continues to stall

Gibbs-White remains Spurs' priority, with Fabrizio Romano (via The Spurs Express on X) insisting that the club are still hoping to close a deal for the England international.

However, there's a very real possibility that Gibbs-White doesn't end up in Lilywhite following Forest's complaints of an "illegal approach". While the Midlands club are resigned to losing their star playmaker this summer, they're reportedly starting to offer him to other clubs.

That, of course, is far from good news for us.

Moreover, I listed RB Leipzig's Xavi Simons as my ideal alternative to the Englishman, but Romano has reported that Chelsea are the frontrunners for the Dutchman's signature. The Italian journalist understands that Simons is open to a move to west London, although the Blues are yet to strike a deal with the Bundesliga club.

It's believed that Leipzig would accept a fee less than €70m (£60.7m) for the slick creator's services, and we know Spurs have this sort of money to splurge, given that we were willing to trigger the £60m release clause in Gibbs-White's Forest contract that no one was supposed to know about.

Simons certainly differs from our priority target. The Dutch international is less powerful over large distances and less effusive out of possession, but he's masterful in pockets and a lovely footballer to watch. He's a low-block compromiser if I've ever seen one, with his schooling at La Masia bearing fruit at senior level.

Simons is the epitome of a No. 10, for me, and I think he'd be a superb fit in the marauding playmaker role Alfie Devine performed at the weekend. This is surely a player Spurs should at least be intrigued by, and I wouldn't be sure where to turn next if a solution to this Gibbs-White nonsense isn't stumbled upon anytime soon.