Manchester City continue to have their eye on Nottingham Forest ace Morgan Gibbs-White ahead of the summer transfer window.
The England international is admired by City as they search for a replacement for the departing Kevin De Bruyne. And it appears the Reds could be facing a fight to hold on to their star player.
Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz has also been on City’s list of potential targets to step into De Bruyne’s shoes. It has now been claimed they have walked away from talks regarding the German, but Gibbs-White remains on their radar.
Transfer guru Fabrizio Romano said on social media: “Manchester City have currently left the negotiations for Florian Wirtz. Talks were never advanced or at final stages, just initial approaches but City believe full package is too expensive. Morgan Gibbs-White remains on Man City shortlist.”
Romano recently said of City’s interest in Gibbs-White: “Manchester City plan to advance on Morgan Gibbs-White deal in the next weeks as he remains one of the priority targets. No issues are expected on personal terms but work to do with Nottingham Forest as they still hope to keep MGW.”
The 25-year-old is under contract at the City Ground until 2027. The Reds have no desire to sell their prized asset but their resolve to hang on to him could well be tested this summer.
City boss Pep Guardiola made a beeline for Gibbs-White after his team’s FA Cup semi-final victory over Forest last month. His actions did not go unnoticed by members of the Reds’ staff, and head coach Nuno Espirito Santo appeared to reference them when addressing the speculation about Gibbs-White’s future recently.
Nuno said: “Normally, me personally, I think during the competition it is not healthy to speak or to approach other players of other teams. Regarding Morgan, I see him happy and I see him working hard. I see him focused.
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“Morgan is one of the players that because we know each other so well and for so long, we don’t have to speak. But I see him well. Just leave Morgan to do his job and enjoy his football. When he does it, it is amazing.”
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