Morgan Gibbs-White uncertainty emerges as Manchester City to focus efforts on new number 10 transfer target | OneFootball

The future of Nottingham Forest’s Morgan Gibbs-White may be thrown into doubt as Manchester City focus their transfer attentions on a new name in creative midfield.

The England international was originally believed to be the Etihad Stadium’s number one choice as they go in search of reinforcement in the creative midfield ranks ahead of the new 2025/26 campaign.

With reports going as far as to suggest that Manchester City would be frontrunners for the City Ground midfielder’s signature when the summer market opened for business for another year, very little has developed since.

That is despite the confirmed exit of Kevin De Bruyne following the expiry of his contract with the club, and lingering doubts over whether both Jack Grealish and Bernardo Silva will be operating in Sky Blue come August.

But a new name has now emerged on the scene that may not only excite Manchester City supporters but also raise question marks as to whether Gibbs-White could make his move into UEFA Champions League football during the off-season.

That is according to the information of journalist Santi Aouna, who claims that officials at Manchester City are now set to focus their efforts on the signing of Olympique Lyonnais’ Rayan Cherki ‘in the next weeks’ for the number 10 role in Pep Guardiola’s squad.

There does however remain the possibility of Manchester City signing both players, with Cherki believed to have a low-cost release clause in his contract that is attracting attention throughout the European market.

With financial matters likely to lead to Lyon requiring exits from their squad this summer, clubs are expected to snap their hand off to activate the clause that is understood to stand between £20 million and £25 million.

As such, Manchester City could feasibly make a deal for the French playmaker and Morgan Gibbs-White happen in the same market, with one recent report indicating a fee of around £7 million required by Nottingham Forest for the latter.

With Pep Guardiola and Manchester City embarking on a rare summer of club football thanks to the FIFA Club World Cup in the United States, there is expected to be a desire to finalise agreements for talents in the next three weeks, including AC Milan’s Tijjani Reijnders.