With Kevin De Bruyne set to leave Manchester City at the end of the season, Hugo Viana could turn himself into a hero or a villain based on the player he picks to replace the Belgian maestro.
While De Bruyne has suffered a decline, there is no questioning his status as one of City’s greatest players of all time and one of the fundamental reasons behind Pep Guardiola’s dominance of English football.
Hugo Viana has a track record of making shrewd signings, from Viktor Gyokeres to Morten Hjulmand and he has every reason to back himself to do the job.
A move for Morgan Gibbs-White interests Manchester City to potentially replace De Bruyne alongside Florian Wirtz — who are the Sky Blues’ two prime targets to succeed the six-time Premier League winner.
- READ MORE: Morgan Gibbs-White says ‘unreal’ Man City star is actually one of the best players in the world
Hugo Viana has been tracking Man City target Morgan Gibbs-White for years
While Wirtz is Manchester City’s dream target, Hugo Viana will have to take a close look at alternatives such as Gibbs-White in case the German decides to sign for Bayern Munich or Bayer Leverkusen.
Morgan Gibbs-White is Premier League-proven, which will appeal to Hugo Viana as he would like most of the players he signs in the summer to hit the ground running at Manchester City.
Fabrizio Romano has revealed on his official YouTube channel that the former Sporting CP director of football has been tracking the Nottingham Forest midfielders for years: “Remember the name we already mentioned and we keep insisting of Morgan Gibbs-White for Manchester City. Because for sure, he is on the list of Manchester City. He is quite high on the list of Manchester City, a player really appreciated by those at the club. Hugo Viana, the new director at Manchester City really appreciates the player, was already following him years ago so he’s on the list.”
“He’s a Premier League-proven player, he’s still a really important player for Nottingham Forest so it’s not going to be an easy deal, it’s not going to be any cheap deal, it’s going to be a tough one in terms of negotiations.”
“His agents are also aware of the interest from Manchester City.”
If Manchester City amplify their efforts to sign Gibbs-White, Hugo Viana will have to sanction a big-money deal as Nottingham Forest have no interest in saying yes to any measly offer, Romano added: “A really important point is going to be how much Nottingham Forest want for Morgan Gibbs-White because Nottingham Forest, of course will play European football, they will fight to play Champions League football so Nottingham Forest are in a fantastic moment of their history and they are not intentioned to accept any normal bid or cheap bid for Morgan Gibbs-White.”
Why Man City think signing Morgan Gibbs-White is so important
Gibbs-White is one of Phil Foden’s best friends and if he did make a move to the Etihad Stadium, the latter could help him settled into the squad quickly.
With City having several English players on their books such as Foden, Jack Grealish, John Stones, Kyle Walker, Rico Lewis, Nico O’Reilly and Kalvin Phillips, the 25-year-old could feel right at home in a sky blue strip.
The Daily Mail have detailed the three reasons why Hugo Viana is interested in snapping Gibbs-White up as one of Manchester City’s summer signings.
- Central midfield is considered a key area of City’s squad rebuild
- Gibbs-White is an alternative to Florian Wirtz
- The need to add energy to Manchester City’s midfield next season
Interestingly, Nottingham Forest are eyeing James McAtee as a potential incoming this summer.
Perhaps Hugo Viana might be exploring the possibility of a potential swap deal involving McAtee and Gibbs-White but Nottingham Forest seem likelier to say yes to a sizable offer from Manchester City.
