Nottingham Forest £105m double transfer exit imminent as Newcastle United agree five-year deal
Nottingham Forest have been dealt a double transfer blow this week, but landed themselves a significant financial boost in the process.
Forest have broken their record transfer sale twice this week, firstly with the sale of Anthony Elanga to Newcastle United for £55million before Tottenham Hotspur triggered Morgan Gibbs-White’s £60million release clause.
Forest’s previous record transfer sale was also to Spurs back in 2023 as Brennan Johnson left for £47.5million. Johnson has since repaid the fee with 18 goals for Spurs last season, including the winner in the Europa League final against Manchester United.
Elanga is officially a Newcastle player while Gibbs-White is set to finalise a move to Spurs over the weekend.
It comes after both players enjoyed fine seasons with Forest to help the club finish seventh and secure European football for the first time in over 30 years. But both Elanga and Gibbs-White have left to join clubs playing in the Champions League this coming season while Forest will be competing in either the Europa League or Conference League depending on Crystal Palace’s situation
And their squad now risks being dismantled slightly with two top players out of the door. Although the club still have plenty of time to reinvest the £105million financial boost, they will have to do so smartly in order to remain competitive at the right end of the table.
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Anthony Elanga to Newcastle United
Newcastle have been long-term admirers of Elanga and made the 23-year-old their top target as a right-wing addition this summer having failed to bring him to the club last year. A deal would be difficult with Forest wanting to keep hold of the winger after he contributed six goals and 12 assists for the club last season.
After rejecting an initial £45million bid, Newcastle’s improved £55million offer proved too good to turn down.
Elanga never returned to train with Forest this pre-season, instead training individually in Portugal before flying directly to Newcastle to complete his medical and finalise the move, signing a five-year contract at St James’ Park.
Morgan Gibbs-White to Tottenham Hotspur
Gibbs-White has been a pivotal player since his initial £25million move from Wolverhampton Wanderers in 2022. Add-ons have since increased that fee to in excess of £40million with Gibbs-White playing a key role at Forest with 18 goals and 28 assists in 118 appearances.
He is also a full England international and his last appearance as a Nottingham Forest player at the City Ground actually came for the Three Lions in a friendly defeat to Senegal last month.
But with a £60million release clause in his contract, the Forest fan favourite was always at risk of leaving the club should his performances justify that sort of price tag. At 25 and a proven Premier League attacking-midfielder and England international, £60million is arguably about the going rate in the current market.
The challenge for Forest now is to reinvest the money and fill two massive gaps in their starting line-up ahead of the new Premier League and European campaigns.