Forest hat-trick hero plunges summer suitors Spurs into deeper danger
Instead of scoring the goals to lift Nottingham Forest closer to safety, Morgan Gibbs-White could have been Tottenham 's saviour. Spurs thought they had their man last July but the transfer saga - during which Forest threatened legal action - could still have ramifications 10 months later. The England international's first hat-trick in Sunday's 4-1 win over Burnley lifted Forest five points above the Premier League relegation zone with five games left and pushed Tottenham closer to the drop.
Gibbs-White also scored Forest's winner in Thursday's 1-0 Europa League quarter-final second-leg victory over Porto, which sent them through 2-1 on aggregate and set up a semi-final with Aston Villa . It has left him on 15 goals in all competitions for Forest this season as the 26-year-old proves the difference as Vitor Pereira's side look for survival ahead of Spurs. When Forest strolled out of north London with a 3-0 win at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium 28 days ago it felt seismic.
They were only three points above the relegation zone, but the magnitude of the win could not be understated. It was Pereira's first win as Forest manager and the nature of the victory felt huge, with Gibbs-White scoring a game-clinching second. Fast forward a month and Gibbs-White's hat-trick piles more misery on Spurs and gives them another reminder of what could have been.
A move to Tottenham appeared done in July when it appeared his £60m release clause had been triggered. Yet Forest looked to take legal action and were furious with Tottenham 's conduct and were adamant they had not been given permission to speak to their player. Gibbs-White went on to sign a new three-year contract a few weeks later and the saga was perhaps a prelude to the two club's chaotic seasons, with Forest going through four managers and Spurs close to their first relegation since 1977.
"A massive three points. We knew how important this game was coming into it. The first half was a bit nervous, tense," Gibbs-White told BBC Match of the Day.