Manchester City have an ace up their sleeve in their quest to sign an attacking midfielder this summer, after a report revealed their new top target’s current club want to take a player in the opposite direction.
Finding a number 10 capable of replacing Kevin De Bruyne wasn’t going to be easy, but when Liverpool began to close in on the capture of Florian Wirtz from Bayer Leverkusen, it must have given Man City a new perspective on how daunting that task might be.
With Wirtz seemingly now off the table – even though they were cooling their interest anyway – City have turned their attention elsewhere. Now, their prime target is Morgan Gibbs-White from Nottingham Forest.
And while Gibbs-White won’t come cheap either, City have just discovered how they can pull off the deal for a reasonable price.
According to The Sun, Gibbs-White’s current club Forest have put City’s Matheus Nunes on their shortlist of transfer targets.
City have set an asking price of £35m for Nunes, according to the report, which is about half of what Forest are asking for to let Gibbs-White go.
Therefore, in terms of net spend, City can get Gibbs-White in a decent-looking deal. It would allow them to get rid of Nunes, who was praised lavishly by Pep Guardiola before joining the club but has seen that feedback get toned down significantly since they started working together.
Guardiola has often used Nunes out of position at full-back, rather than in midfield, this season after casting doubt on his ability to play in the middle.
Gibbs-White stance on Man City move
TEAMtalk revealed earlier this week that Gibbs-White is open to making a step up, despite Forest enjoying an ambitious season in which they have been in the mix for European qualification.
Forest have been hoping to extend the England international’s contract beyond 2027, but City are ready to step up their pursuit of the 25-year-old.
Pep Guardiola admires his work rate and technical quality, which could make him a good fit for an evolving City side.
De Bruyne is departing the club on a free transfer this summer after a decade of service, leaving a void that will be near-impossible to fill.
However, City could sign a player of proven Premier League quality in the shape of Gibbs-White, who is a different type of midfielder but is on an upwards trajectory.
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