England's Morgan Gibbs-White ready for City Ground homecoming

The City Ground is the perfect host venue for Tuesday's proceedings between England and Senegal, for it’s no stranger to excitement.

The famous old ground has seen it all in since it opened in 1898, and after two seasons of nerve-jangling brushes with relegation, Nottingham Forest  experienced all the ups and downs that come with a pursuit of European football.

Forest’s drastic turnaround in fortunes this past season can hardly be pinpointed to just one factor. On the contrary, it’s the accumulation of many, from the deadly finishing of Chris Wood to the watertight defensive partnership of Murillo and Nikola Milenkovic. Tying it all together in the middle of the park, seemingly at the heart of everything Forest do well, has been Morgan Gibbs-White. 

Captaining Forest in over half of their Premier League games this term, he has helped steer the side into Europe for the first time in almost 30 years. While Champions League qualification proved to be a bridge too far, a seventh-place finish and Conference League football next season is surely a world away from where Gibbs-White thought the club would be when he joined. 

“This season has been incredible, honestly,” he says. “To go from battling relegation to chasing a Champions League spot, and to then secure European football for the club for the first time in 30 years, is something we’re all proud of. It’s great knowing that the fans will head into Europe to follow the team next season.”

To the relief of many in his adopted city, Thomas Tuchel’s current England squad included Gibbs-White’s name.
 
“It’s exciting to be playing at ‘home’ at the City Ground. It will be an incredible atmosphere no doubt,” he says. “Hopefully I’ll get the chance to step on the field. I’m really looking forward to it. You never know whether you’re going to get picked or not, so just to be in this camp and to have featured in the one in March has given me more belief in myself. I’m playing and training with some of the best players in the world – the opportunity to learn from these guys is amazing.”

While many pundits and fans alike will point to his technical and physical attributes, Gibbs-White brings a lot more to the table than your average goalscoring midfielder. He’s also a talisman. And if his time at Forest is anything to go by, and his previous World Cup exploits with England’s MU17s, where they lifted the title in 2017, the expectation that comes with wearing the England shirt could help him soar to new heights as he hopes to go all the way all over again next summer.

Gibbs-White is certainly not afraid to step up when needed. In his time at the club he has been a pivotal player and a key component in matches of huge consequence at both the top and bottom of the Premier League, and every time he’s shown his ability to lead by example. With Forest facing the prospect of Premier League relegation last season, it was the Stafford-born midfielder who kept his head. This year, with Forest chasing wins for very different reasons, he was once again at the forefront, showing he could handle the pressure better than most.

To trace Gibbs-White’s rise, we have to go back to where his football journey began – Wolverhampton Wanderers. Joining the club at the age of eight, he quickly established himself as one
of their brightest prospects.

In January 2017, he became Wolves’ second youngest ever player (now sixth), making his senior debut in the FA Cup against Stoke City aged 16.

“He was always talented,” former Wolves academy coach and Forest defender Des Lyttle told The Athletic. “But there were five or six in his age group who were talented. Why did Morgan make it? Because he had something a bit different. He had that drive, that desire, that work ethic.”

That hunger soon paid dividends. In late 2017, he’d further enhance his reputation with some impressive cameo performances for eventual champions England at the Under-17 FIFA World Cup. Starring alongside Jadon Sancho, Phil Foden and Callum Hudson-Odoi, Gibbs-White more than held his own, scoring against the United States in the quarter-final, and against Spain in the final to cap off an impressive tournament. His talent was obvious, and abundant.

Despite this, he’d have to bide his time when he returned to Wolves. In the 2017-18 Championship season, he started twice. The next two campaigns weren’t much better for the teenager, more often on the bench than on the field. That was until a memorable loan spell at Sheffield United. Gibbs-White was a standout performer for the Blades, notching eleven goals and nine assists as his side snuck into the Championship play-offs.

Forest, who beat Sheffield United in the play-off semi-finals that year, had seen enough. In the summer of 2023, they took a punt on the 22 year old.

At Forest, the youngster had a familiar face in the dugout to help him adapt to his new surroundings. As the architect of England U17s’ remarkable World Cup triumph, Forest boss Steve Cooper was
well acquainted with the club’s newest arrival. Primarily deployed as an attacking midfielder, operating between the lines, Gibbs-White quickly became invaluable to Cooper’s system, accruing five goals, eight assists and five player-of-the-match awards in his debut season for Forest. They were decisive contributions too, as the club avoided relegation by four points.

“You have to give Cooper a lot of credit,” Lille midfielder and England teammate Angel Gomes, who played with Gibbs-White at the U17 World Cup, stated to The Athletic.

“Coops allowed him to express himself, because he knew he would get everything back in return.”

As impressive as his debut campaign at Forest was, it was in 2023-24 that he seriously started to catch the eye. Goal involvements when the pressure is off is one thing, standing up when your team needs you is another. It’s in these moments, after all, where true leaders are born. With Cooper no longer at the club, and captain Ryan Yates getting off to a slow start, Gibbs-White became the side’s talisman and its driving force as Forest faced the spectre of relegation once more.

Just as they did one season earlier, Forest, now under Nuno Espirito Santo, avoided the drop. As a reward for his consistency, dedication and leadership, he was entrusted with the captain’s armband, which he still wears.

“I watched Forest’s game against Aston Villa recently and saw him chasing back 50 to 60 yards after giving the ball away,” says Lyttle. “That’s what you call leadership. And Morgan always had that.”

Gomes echoes this sentiment: “What always stood out about Morgan was his mentality. He’s never scared to voice an opinion. He’s got that drive. And it shows why he has been a captain at Forest.”

That drive will no doubt be on display once more, if he’s given the opportunity on Tuesday night.

You can read the full feature and much more in the official match programme for England v Senegal. Order a copy here.