Even during the 2024/2025 season, Morgan Gibbs-White was strongly linked with a move to Manchester City.
Manchester City viewed Gibbs-White as Kevin De Bruyne’s successor, who went on to sign for Napoli this summer.
However, City shifted their focus towards the signings of Tijjani Reijnders and Rayan Cherki.
Recently, Gibbs-White extended his contract at Nottingham Forest until 2028, putting an end to the speculation around his future as well.
Morgan Gibbs-White was stunned about Man City signing Rayan Cherki
However, at one point, Morgan Gibbs-White seemed destined to become a Manchester City player and play alongside one of his best mates in football, Phil Foden.
So much so that Manchester City were reportedly set to sign Gibbs-White.
However, once Manchester City decided to sign Cherki instead, the Daily Mail have reported that Gibbs-White was “bewildered.”
Gibbs-White’s teammates expected him to join Manchester City as well and the report claims that the player was keen on the move.
Considering Pep Guardiola spoke to Gibbs-White after the FA Cup semi-final and the Sky Blues had targeted his arrival for ages, the Englishman was surprised that they quickly moved on to seal Cherki’s signing.
Fabrizio Romano revealed why Man City chose not to sign Morgan Gibbs-White
However, City had a reason in place for not completing a deal for the Nottingham Forest technician.
With Gibbs-White valued at £70 million by Forest, Fabrizio Romano revealed that Manchester City felt it would be a better use of their finances to sign Cherki, who Gael Clichy called “elite” and Reijnders instead of splashing the cash on one midfielder.
“Morgan Gibbs-White was on the list of Manchester City during the beginning of the summer transfer window, but then they decided to go for a different strategy. Instead of spending big in that position, they wanted to spend the money on several positions, so they signed Rayan Cherki for the creative attacking midfielder.”
