Wolverhampton Wanderers supporters may regret the sale of academy product Morgan Gibbs-White to Nottingham Forest in 2022, as Sunday People Chief Sports Writer Neil Moxley provides GIVEMESPORT with his verdict on the star’s move away from Molineux.
Wolves have made a mixed start to the season under head coach Gary O’Neil.
Ahead of the 2022/23 season, Gibbs-White returned to Wolves, having impressed in the Championship on loan at Sheffield United. The academy prospect felt he had done enough to warrant a place in then-manager Bruno Lage’s first team as Wanderers aimed to build on the previous season’s 10th-placed finish. At the time, journalist Paul Brown told GIVEMESPORT that the 23-year-old had a role to play at Molineux after impressing in pre-season.
Gibbs-White started the first two games of the campaign but failed to inspire, alongside the rest of the team, in a 2-1 defeat at Leeds United before a home stalemate with Fulham. With Wolves requiring additions, having already signed Burnley centre-back Nathan Collins and Valencia forward Goncalo Guedes, the club turned towards Sporting CP and Portugal midfielder Matheus Nunes.
However, the club’s financial fair play situation meant they needed to raise revenue to complete the signing.
Enter Nottingham Forest, who signed Gibbs-White in a deal worth almost £43m, paying an initial £25m for his services. The transfer enabled Wolves to sign Nunes in a deal worth around £42m, a club-record signing after eclipsing the £35m spent on FC Porto striker Fabio Silva. However, fast forward 12 months, and the situation has changed drastically. Both Forest and Wolves fended off relegation to the Championship last term and had aspirations of pushing on this season.
