Gibbs-White to Newcastle? - Why Toon could reignite interest in Nottingham Forest star

Newcastle are in desperate need of a right winger and should have money to spend and the freedom to sign now the PSR deadline passed.

Eddie Howe loves versatility and is crying out for an injection of quality on that side of the pitch. The solution may be...𝐌𝐨𝐫𝐠𝐚𝐧 𝐆𝐢𝐛𝐛𝐬-𝐖𝐡𝐢𝐭𝐞; a player reportedly identified as a key target during the January transfer window.

Here I dive deep into his qualities as a player, detailing why he could be an ideal summer signing should Newcastle reignite their interest in the Nottingham Forest star.

𝐁𝐚𝐜𝐤𝐠𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝. Gibbs-White is 24-year-old attacking midfielder for Nottingham Forest, he played for Wolves during his academy days. He made his debut for Wolves at 16, coming on for a 30 min cameo in the Fa cup against Stoke, he would then go on to make 13 appearances for Wolves in their title-winning season. His first season in the PL he featured 26 times, with five starts. With competition growing and the Wolves team improving he only went on to play seven times in the PL the following season. This then led to a loan move to Swansea where he was riddled with injuries. Then he got his loan move to Sheffield United, this is when his career got back on track, playing 35 times getting 19 goal contributions and helping his team reach the play offs. That season led to him getting a £42.5 million move to Forest, where he has become a key player.

He is also highly rated amongst the England set up with him representing his nation at youth levels from the u16 to u21, he showcased his talents when he helped England u17’s win the u17 world cup, where he scored the second in a 5-2 win vs Spain in the final. He was first introduced to the u21’s in 2019 where he has went on to represent them 18 times and was part of the side that won the u21 European championships.

𝗩𝗲𝗿𝘀𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. During the championship season with Wolves, he would play in a midfield two with Romain Saiss or on the right, it was a good balance as MGW could go further forward with Saiss being more defensive, with an aggressive back three behind him it gave him sufficient cover. When promoted to the PL, Nuno switched formations from a 5-2-3 to more of a 5-3-2, this led to Gibbs-White tasked with a slightly different role, as an eight, where he wasn’t involved in build up as often and got less of the ball. The few games he played for Swansea he played as a pure number 10 behind a front two, a position he is very familiar with now. Then at Sheffield United he played multiple different positions and showed off his versatility, at the start of the season he played on the right wing with Baldock overlapping meaning he could go more central, he also played some minutes as a number 10, until Heckingbottom was appointed, where he would either play up front in a front two or on the right of a very narrow front three. Now at Forest he has played similar roles with him either on the right of a narrow front 3 or as a 10 behind front two.

𝗢𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗴𝘁𝗵𝘀. MGW is really good on the half turn, he loves to receive the ball in pockets, so he can turn and drive at the opposition, technically Gibbs-White is superb.
He is a good ball carrier, but he doesn't do it often enough but he still is very progressive with his passing (4.85 progressive passes per 90), he is so positive with his actions, head is always up looking for the right pass whilst driving with the ball, he is extremely dangerous in transition.

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He is such a good passer of the ball, his range of passing it top draw, he has so many in his locker; short one-twos, long switches, outside the boot, through balls. I don’t think there is a pass MGW can’t perform.
He uses his body really well, often tries to manipulate opposition by dropping a shoulder or even just nudging them, his body manipulation is top, it often leads to him winning fouls as well (1.63 fouls drawn per 90).
He is also a good set piece taker, dead ball scenarios MGW has got it, excellent passer and crosser of the ball as well.
Surprisingly, aerially he is actually quite impressive, he commits himself into a lot of aerial duels and doesn’t shy away from them (1.71 per 90 with a 46.9% success rate).
His link up play is top, often picks up the ball in deep areas and plays quick passes, looking for one – twos.
His disguised movements are so fun to watch, he is so slick with the ball and so unpredictable, a nightmare to defend against.

𝐎𝐟𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐬. Forest play a fairly passive press so we don’t see him in those high pressing scenarios very often but when they’re sat in a block his positioning is always great, tasked with shadow marking the pivot player and seems to be instructing other players around him, he leads that first line of pressure.
He works hard off the ball, when his team is in vulnerable situations he will attempt to get back and try and resolve the situation, hard working plus good defensive positioning makes me think MGW could elevate any teams press.
Under Nuno, Forest have had a couple different shapes out of possession, their first one is a 5-2-3/5-2-1-2 with MGW operating as the 10 and marking the pivot, but they also played a 4-4-2 out of possession, where MGW would join Wood up front, where they would both have a hybrid role, when one presses the cb’s the other stays with the pivot.
MGW is so positive with his runs and movements, he will float around the whole pitch, creating options for line breakers to play through a press, moving into pockets, making channel runs, offering himself up for one-twos, he is the centre of everything Forest do in possession.
MGW also has brilliant upper body strength, he often finds himself trying to hold off centre backs and turning out of pressure, physically he is impressive.

𝐖𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐬 Can make the wrong pass at times or makes an extra pass when the shot is on, just a bit too unselfish. He can also make situations harder than they need to be, maybe delay his action too much or take an extra touch etc. Finally, for me he doesn’t carry the ball as much as he should, sometimes he will play a pass that isn’t there when he should try take advantage of his carrying ability. These weaknesses are pretty much nailed on though when you get creative players like MGW.

𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐡𝐞 𝐟𝐢𝐭𝐬 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐨 𝐍𝐔𝐅𝐂. Gibbs-White will be able to cover three positions for us, right wing, left wing and left eight. For me he would be best in our right wing position. With our Rb overlapping, our right winger is often in central areas and in the right half space where MGW would thrive also the freedom Eddie gives our wingers is perfect for MGW as it allows him to express himself more. On the left wing is less favourable for him but he would enjoy those rotations and link ups he’d get with our left eight as they do find themselves under/overlapping each other. Finally, in left eight he’d be suited as well, he will always be in central areas and can drift wide if needs, he can be involved in each phase of play whilst also finding himself in pockets of space to thrive in.

𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐜𝐥𝐮𝐬𝐢𝐨𝐧. I really like Gibbs-White, his versatility is exactly what we need in our side, he offers us tactical flexibility as he can play as a 10 and he can play in a front two as well. He works extremely hard off the ball with great positional understanding that would help elevate our press, his play between the lines and improvement of technical quality will be massive for us. Another set piece taker and a player who would slot into our starting XI. I truly believe Gibbs-White will be in the England squad soon and is more than ready to prove himself at a better side, for the right fee we should test our luck.