Wolverhampton Wanderers sold Morgan Gibbs-White in the summer of 2022 to newly promoted Nottingham Forest, who were splashing the cash to ensure survival.
The deal was worth around £42.5m, meaning the Old Gold received a substantial profit on the youngster, who had been developed by Wolves since he was a teenager.
Morgan Gibbs-White’s Wolves statistics
The Englishman is one of the key members of Nuno Espírito Santo’s squad as Forest have reached the dreamlike heights of third in the Premier League, registering nine goal contributions in just 20 games.
Despite showing plenty of promise as a teenager at Molineux, making a total of 88 appearances for the club in all competitions, he only managed to score three times for the first team.
This was a stark contrast to his goalscoring feats for both the youth teams at the club and during his loan spell with Sheffield United during the 2021/22 campaign.
|
Morgan Gibbs-White’s statistics this season |
|
|---|---|
|
Goals |
5 |
|
Assists |
4 |
|
Key passes per game |
1.7 |
|
Big chances created |
8 |
|
Shots per game |
1.8 |
|
Successful dribbles per game |
1.2 |
This temporary spell saw Gibbs-White score 12 goals as he helped lead the Blades to the Championship playoffs.
His development of late meant the 25-year-old even won his first England cap, featuring against the Republic of Ireland in September 2024.
Vitor Pereira will be hoping the Wolves’ academy can produce another player of this talent, but this time, retain his services rather than selling him for profit.
Might the Portuguese boss have a youngster right under his nose who could be their next Gibbs-White?
Wolves could unearth their next Morgan Gibbs-White
One thing that Pereira must make a priority during his spell with the Old Gold is to bring through more youngsters to the first team.
Under Gary O’Neil last season, only a handful of academy graduates made an appearance for the club, including Nathan Fraser and Leon Chiwome.
Conor McLeod certainly looks like the next best thing to make waves in the academy, especially with his penchant for scoring.
In just 22 matches for the club in the U18 Premier League, McLeod netted six times
Indeed, his strike rate is much more effective throughout 2024/25. In just ten league games, the 18-year-old has already found the back of the five times, chipping in with a couple of assists too.
This works out as a goal every 118 minutes for the U18 side, which isn’t a bad return at all for someone who operates in the heart of the midfield.
Not one for scoring simple goals, the teenager netted a free-kick against Blackburn Rovers, described as “sublime” by the official account of the Wolves’ academy back in August 2024.
McLeod still has plenty of development to do in the next 12 months, but if he keeps this sort of form going, then Pereira may find it hard to ignore the teenage sensation.
Some minutes in the first team wouldn’t hurt his development, as the Old Gold look to unearth their next version of Gibbs-White from the academy.
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2025-02-08 07:45:14
