Wolverhampton Wanderers, throughout their rollercoaster of a season, have drastically struggled to find the back of the net.
Julen Lopetegui’s men have only scored 29 times in 33 games, which is the 17th lowest in the division, to highlight their painfully abject form in front of goal.
Morgan Gibbs-White was sold to Nottingham Forest for £25m, with possible add-ons of up to £17m, and has emerged as one of the Reds’ most influential and skilful players.
It was a premature decision to sell this coveted talent at such a young age, who could have reversed Wolves’ goal-scoring fortunes.
What is Morgan Gibbs-White up to now?
The playmaker joined Wolves at the age of eight and rose through the youth ranks, before making his Premier League debut in the opening home match of the 2018/19 season against Everton as a late substitute.
The midfielder then provided an assist in his first top-flight start against Chelsea in December 2018. He would subsequently net his first Premier League goal against Brighton in May 2021.
However, it was his loan spell at Sheffield United last season that alerted the country to the unrelenting quality of Gibbs-White. The maestro registered 20 goal contributions in 35 Championship appearances for the Blades, excelling tremendously just behind the striker.
During this time, former Barnsley manager Poya Asbaghi showered the starlet with praise.
He said: “I think Sheffield United have a lot of good players, but he is the most outstanding one. He’s good like he showed for the goal, scoring and running in behind, but he is so good when he drops in-between the centre-backs and the midfield to receive the ball to attack the spaces from there.”
Gibbs-White was subsequently named Sheffield United’s Player of the Year for his series of excellent performances.
Therefore, it was a controversial surprise when the £22m-rated man moved across the Midlands, but many understood due to the size of the fee and his lack of top-flight experience.
Nevertheless, the prodigy has risen to the occasion and has been the shining light of Steve Cooper’s struggling side.
The former Wolves man has recorded nine goal contributions in 29 league outings and is the club’s highest provider, with six assists. He is the primary orchestrator of attacks for Forest, which is demonstrated by his 1.9 key passes and 1.3 dribbles per 90, the highest rank for these metrics within the team, as per WhoScored.
The £80k-per-week man has established himself as an indispensable component of a side grappling for survival and if his side does get relegated, then Gibbs-White has surely proved himself to be Premier League quality and warrants another top-flight transfer.
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