Wolverhampton Wanderers are holding a firm stance with regards to interest in one of their young stars…
What’s the word?
According to Fabrizio Romano, the Old Gold have rejected Nottingham Forest’s new bid for Morgan Gibbs-White.
He goes on to quote Bruno Lage’s response to Forest’s interest: “He’s an important player for me, my dynamic and the future. He feels important, he is happy.”
Wolves had rejected a bid in the region of £30m, although Steve Cooper remains interested in the 22-year-old.
Lage must give him game-time
A player in high demand, Lage seems intent on keeping Gibbs-White around. This could suggest that the midfielder is in for a run in the first team at last, finally graduating from being a youngster afforded mere scraps of game-time.
This is largely down to his sensational Championship performances on loan which saw Sheffield United mount a play-off push last term.
The “sensational” 22-year-old – as hailed by journalist Josh Bunting – was at the heart of a Blades team which lost out to Forest, who coincidentally now want to sign the starlet.
Should Morgan Gibbs-White be given a run in the Wolves team?
Yes
No
Last season he scored ten goals and set up a further eight from just behind the striker, and perhaps Lage is planning a slight formation tweak to see his conservative team turn the defensive midfield position into an attacking midfield role for the Englishman.
These numbers outperform any of Wolves players’ from 2021/22, with their top scorer Raul Jimenez – who is currently injured – only managing six league goals.
With Lage’s team built on its defensive solidity, perhaps allowing the £41k-per-week youngster a free role could help boost Wolves’ goal tally whilst retaining their structure.
Labelled a Blades “hero” by Sheffield-based journalist Chris Holt just a month into last season’s loan spell, Gibbs-White clearly enamoured himself to the Bramall Lane faithful. If given a run and some much-needed confidence in the Old Gold’s midfield, the 22-year-old could quickly become a hero at Molineux as well.
This is all dependent on the manager giving Gibbs-White regular game-time, which many would argue he has more than earned with his performances in Sheffield.
Lage did select the 22-year-old in his starting line-up against Leeds today, with the youngster delivering a performance which was dubbed “superb” by The Mirror’s Ben Husband as he featured for the full match.
If Gibbs-White earns the continued trust of his manager and keeps delivering “superb” performances, it could be a scary prospect for the rest of the Premier League this season.
