Morgan Gibbs-White misses start of Nottingham Forest pre-season camp in fresh twist to Spurs saga

Nottingham Forest midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White has not travelled with the squad for their pre-season camp in Portugal amid strong links with a move away from the club.

Gibbs-White was set for a medical at Tottenham Hotspur earlier this month after Spurs were understood to have triggered his £60m release clause.

However, Forest accused Spurs of an allegedly illegal approach for Gibbs-White - contacting the player directly before going to the club - and the protracted saga has failed to move on the weeks since. Forest are currently considering legal action against Spurs.

The England international has now made himself notable for his absence from the travelling Forest pack, but it understood that this is not transfer related.

He has instead not travelled with the rest of the squad due to a personal reason and is expected he will join up with the team later in the week.

Gibbs-White had already returned to pre-season training with Forest last Monday and has trained again with the club since.

He also started Forest's 0-0 friendly draw with Chesterfield on Saturday at the SMH Group Stadium and played the first half.

Forest will spend the next week-and-a-half in Portugal on a training camp and will play friendlies against Premier League side Fulham and Portuguese side Estoril Praia.

Additional reporting from PA