MY ACCOUNT
Nottingham Forest continue to make waves in the transfer market with Wolves’ Morgan Gibbs-White their 16th signing of the window.
The club-record deal, which could rise to £42.5million with add-ons, extends a summer spending spree which has well exceeded a £125m outlay.
Eyebrows have certainly been raised at the cash they have splashed and the pressure is on boss Steve Cooper to get them firing in the Premier League.
But why was Gibbs-White, 22, the one player the Welsh manager simply had to have in his squad?
Ahead of Forest’s trip to Everton on Saturday, we delve deeper into the East Midlander’s big-money recruit.
Shining light
Wolves were not keen on selling their academy product after a simply stunning season on loan at Sheffield United last term.
Gibbs-White netted 13 goals and notched 10 assists in all competitions as he won the Player of the Season award at Bramall Lane.
When injured in January, Wolves offered him the chance to return to Molineux but he felt he had unfinished business at the Blades.
He put in a virtuoso performance in the play-off semi-final second leg at Forest, only to miss the crucial penalty in the shootout.
That did not take the shine off a brilliant year in South Yorkshire and his progress was such that Manchester City have trusted the Blades to develop two of their hot young talents in James McAtee and Tommy Doyle this term.
Eye-catching
The way he helped reinvigorate Sheffield United after a miserable period at the club was impressive.
And the manner of his goals showed just how high his ceiling could be.
His first for the Blades was a thunderous finish against Peterborough, he scored a 25-yarder at Cardiff, an audacious flick versus Middlesbrough and an acrobatic volley at Bristol City.
Gibbs-White can play in midfield, as a No10 and even filled in as a striker.
Blades boss Paul Heckingbottom said: “He works hard. Anyone can run about but they have to affect the game. He’s got a good footballing brain.”
His natural talent saw him play alongside Phil Foden, Jadon Sancho, Emile Smith Rowe and others when England Under-17s won the World Cup back in 2017.
The Cooper effect
Forest boss Cooper was the Three Lions manager at that tournament in India and had Gibbs-White as one of the first names on his team sheet.
He then brought him on loan to Swansea two years ago, only for Wolves to recall him in January after an injury had restricted him to six appearances.
According to some reports, Cooper was even frustrated to see Gibbs-White join United just a few weeks before the Welshman was appointed at Forest.
He was the one player that the Tricky Trees boss wanted, and that played a huge part in the fee, as well as Gibbs-White’s decision to choose Forest amid reported late interest from Everton.
On joining Swansea in 2022, the 22-year-old said: “I had him [Cooper] in the Under-17s World Cup and I feel like he knows me as a player, and I know him as a manager.
“I think it’s just his character and the way he’s able to deal with man-to-man management and I feel like I thrived off that at the World Cup.”
Top-flight appearance
For all the praise of Gibbs-White’s displays last season and his obvious talent, he has already made 48 top-flight appearances.
Two have come in Wolves’ opening fixtures this term and 26 of them came way back in 2018-19.
That he has not fully kicked on since then is not necessarily a bad thing though given he is only 22.
Gibbs-White has gone away, developed and his experience of the top flight means nothing will shock him at Forest.
Pressure is on
Though he is one of 16 new faces, Gibbs-White was the player that Cooper desperately pushed to sign.
The £25m upfront fee means Forest have broken their transfer record for a second time this summer as they big to impress in their first top-flight season in 23 years.
Fly and he will be a hero on Trentside, fail to ignite and he could become the poster boy for an expensive nightmare.
The pressure is well and truly on.
