Nottingham Forest could sign £17m ‘major talent’ to replace Gibbs-White

There have been several players who have stood out for Nottingham Forest this season, in a fantastic campaign so far. The East Midlands side are flying in the Premier League, with Chris Wood their top scorer. The New Zealand striker has 12 goals to his name in the top flight.

Anthony Elanga was also a standout player for the men in Garibaldi Red. The Manchester United academy graduate has three goals and four assists in the top flight. That’s just three more goals and assists than Forest’s other leading winger, Callum Hudson-Odoi, who has two each.

Perhaps the star of the show for Forest this season, however, has been Morgan Gibbs-White.

Gibbs-White’s stats in 2024/25

It has been a season to remember for Forest number ten Gibbs-White after a rather slow start to the campaign. He has four goals and three assists in 16 top division games this term, but has been particularly profitable in recent games.

The former Wolverhampton Wanderers man has scored or provided six assists in his last six games in various competitions. This included a goal and an assist against Man United at Old Trafford in a 3-2 win in early December.

He is clearly held in high esteem in the football world. Despite patchy form at the start of the season, former England interim manager Lee Carcelli called him up to the national team and immediately gave him his debut. He called the 24-year-old “Hard to play against”, which is high praise indeed.

It looks like Gibbs-White is back to his best, which is a huge boon for Forest. However, he is believed to be of “strong interest” from Premier League sides Liverpool, Manchester City, Newcastle United and Aston Villa, who could try to sign him. according to the Mail.

Should the Forest talisman leave the club, he may well already have a replacement lined up.

Forest’s perfect Gibbs-White replacement

The player in question here is attacking midfielder Habib Diarra. According to a report by Asromalive.it earlier this week, the East Midlands outfit targeted the midfielder, who could cost upwards of £17m. They could face Premier League side Everton in the race to sign the 21-year-old.

If Forest can secure a deal to sign Diarra, they will add a “major talent” to the club. At least, that’s it football talent scout Jacek Kulig described him aswhich certainly bodes well for the City Ground faithful.

Indeed, the versatile midfielder has had a strong season so far in 2024/25 for Ligue 1 side Strasbourg. The Senegalese midfielder has scored four goals and has one assist in 15 French top-flight games this season, including one on the first day of the season.

He is also a brilliant leader as evidenced by the fact that he captained the club in every Ligue 1 game he played, just like Gibbs-White did at Nottingham.

Not only does he play a similar role to the Forest skipper, as an advanced number eight or number ten, but the numbers are also up there with the former Wolves man.

Statistically, you can see the similarities between the two when comparing them in FBref. The ball-carrying numbers stack up well, with Diarra averaging 2.39 forwards per game and Gibbs-White only slightly more at 2.73.

Creatively, the Strasbourg midfielder averages 4.65 breakthrough passes per 90 minutes, compared to the Forest playmaker’s 5.18 per game.

There is no doubt that losing Gibbs-White would be a huge blow for Forest. The attacking midfielder is the talisman of the East Midlands outfit and would not be easy to replace. However, they may have found someone who can.

For a fair price of just £17m, they could bring in a talented creative midfielder with an eye for goals who is also a great leader. This could easily be a description of Gibbs-White. It certainly looks like Diarra could be a fantastic addition to Garibaldi Red’s men.

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