Morgan Gibbs-White, Forest’s talisman after Spurs scare and hat-trick hero | OneFootball

Morgan Gibbs-White has been Nottingham Forest’s creative heartbeat and, without him, they may well have gone down. A recent facial injury lay-off only underlined his value.

NY Times notes a chaotic season still produced several contenders, with Neco Williams taking the club award. Forest do not intend to sell Gibbs-White or Williams, and plan to keep the core beyond a potential sale of Elliot Anderson.

An early dip followed personal challenges around the difficult birth of his second child and uncertainty over his future. He then hit 18 goals in all competitions, 15 in the Premier League, second only to Ollie Watkins on 16 among Englishmen. It was surprising Thomas Tuchel did not include him alongside Anderson in his England squad.

Before the final two fixtures he produced nine goal contributions in eight games. At Burnley last month, Vitor Pereira moved him left in the three behind Chris Wood and he completed a second-half hat-trick, with his manager praising his talent, leadership and willingness to take responsibility.

He scored again in the remarkable 5-0 win at Sunderland and set up one at Chelsea, then a clash of heads left him needing a protective mask. Even so, he guided in an audacious finish at Old Trafford from just inside the area.

Last July, owner Evangelos Marinakis flew to Portugal to secure his new deal after Tottenham thought a £60 million clause had been triggered. Fending that off felt as significant as any of the 13 summer signings.

Source: NY Times