Nottingham Forest will reportedly demand a nine-figure fee for Manchester City-linked midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White.
It was recently reported that the 25-year-old is one of multiple candidates who has been identified by Pep Guardiola‘s side as a possible replacement for Kevin De Bruyne, who will be leaving the Etihad Stadium when his contract expires at the end of the season.
Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz is also on Man City’s radar and he, along with Gibbs-White, are expected to feature in the Citizens’ transfer deliberations this summer.
The Citizens intend to prioritise transfer targets as soon as new sporting director Hugo Viana is fully embedded into his role at the Etihad, with the Portuguese to initially work alongside outgoing chief Txiki Begiristain during a transition period.
With Wirtz believed to be valued by Leverkusen at around €150m (£128m), it was initially assumed that Gibbs-White could be viewed as a cheaper alternative for clubs such as Man City.
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Forest value Gibbs-White in same bracket as Grealish
However, according to talkSPORT, Nottingham Forest have slapped a £100m price tag on Gibbs-White, who is under contract at the City Ground until June 2027.
The report adds that Nuno Espirito Santo‘s side value the England international in the same bracket as Jack Grealish, who was bought by City in 2021 for a then British transfer record of £100m.
Gibbs-White has been a standout performer for a Forest outfit who have been the surprise packages in the Premier League this season and are in a strong position to secure Champions League football for 2025-26, sitting third in the table and five points above Man City in sixth spot.
The versatile midfielder joined Forest in 2022 from Wolverhampton Wanderers for an initial £25m, potentially rising to £42.5m with add-ons, and has since played 110 times for Santo’s side across all competitions, chipping in with five goals and nine assists in 27 Premier League games this season.
England’s former interim boss Lee Carsley handed Gibbs-White his first senior international call-up in September, with the midfielder becoming Forest’s first player since Stuart Pearce in 1997 to pull on a Three Lions shirt.
Gibbs-White’s impressive form at club level was also recognised by new England head coach Thomas Tuchel who called him up to the senior squad last month.
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Is Gibbs-White worth £100m?
Gibbs-White has undoubtedly established himself as an important player for Forest and they would find it difficult to replace someone as influential as him in Santo’s system, hence why they are demanding such a high fee for his services.
However, whether Man City would be willing to fork out £100m on a player who is not racking up the attacking numbers compared to other midfielders such as Wirtz – last season’s Bundesliga Player of the Year who has recorded 15 goals and 13 assists in 39 games so far this term – remains to be seen.
Some Man City supporters may question speculation linking their club with Gibbs-White, but former Premier League midfielder Danny Murphy believes that the midfielder is good enough to play in “any team”.
Speaking on talkSPORT, Murphy said: “He’s just got it all. He’s shining in that (Forest) team and it suits him being the main man. The only question you’d have is playing under bigger pressure and having to do it more consistently.
“He’s terrific with his back to goal, great skill, can score, good passer – he takes risks with his passes and through balls. The great advantage with someone like Gibbs-White is he wants to do the work without the ball and you don’t always get attacking players who want to.
“He can play centre midfield, I’ve seen him play it in a two. He is phenomenal, he’s just really unlucky at the moment that England have got so many good players in a similar position. I think he could play in any team.”
Gibbs-White and his Forest teammates are now preparing for their next Premier League match at home to Everton on Saturday afternoon.
