While Liverpool are free to enjoy the rest of their season now that the Premier League title has been secured, other clubs don’t have the same luxury.
One such team who still have everything on the line are Nottingham Forest, who are embroiled in a frantic battle for Champions League qualification as the finish line to 2024/25 draws ever closer.
At the outset of the campaign, not even the most optimistic Garibaldi supporter could’ve realistically envisaged their team being in the hunt for a seat at Europe’s top table going into May, but to miss out now after spending many months in the top five would be a crushing disappointment.
It could also make it considerably harder for City Ground chiefs to keep hold of their standout players who’ll have caught the eye of clubs with greater financial resources, including midfield leader Morgan Gibbs-White.
Liverpool aware of Gibbs-White’s situation at Forest
According to Graeme Bailey for TBR Football, the 25-year-old will consider his options in the summer if Forest miss out on a Champions League place, with the Midlands club reluctant to lose the player but acknowleding the growing interest in him.
Liverpool are among several Premier League clubs who are aware of that situation and may seek to take advantage if Nuno Espirito Santo’s side fall short of the top five, although the former Wolves maestro is set to command an enormous fee.
The City Ground hierarchy value Gibbs-White in the same bracket as Jack Grealish, who cost Manchester City £100m to sign four years ago, and interested suitors can duly expect to fork out a similar sum.
Difficult to see Liverpool spending £100m on Gibbs-White
There’s no disputing that the 25-year-old has been at the heartbreat of Forest’s unlikely push for Champions League qualification this season, with The Athletic‘s Nick Miller noting how the midfielder has been an on-field ’emissary’ for Nuno in communicating tactical instructions to his teammates.
Liverpool’s reported interest in the England international is nothing new, having come to light on occasion over the past few months, and a few pundits have cited the number 10 position as one where the Reds have room for improvement in the summer transfer window.
Those who’ve watched Gibbs-White in action at the City Ground have deemed him the ‘brain’ of the team, orchestrating his colleagues on the pitch in a similar vein to Virgil van Dijk or Steven Gerrard and having the audacity to eschew the obvious pass or run if he spots an opportunity to create danger for opponents (The Athletic).
If Forest fail in their Champions League quest, he could be ripe for the picking for prospective suitors, but the Garibaldi’s rumoured £100m asking price is rather prohibitive, and it certainly wouldn’t fit the mould of a conventional FSG transfer.
Nonetheless, if Anfield recruitment chiefs are convinced that he’d be a good fit for Arne Slot’s side and believe that the Midlands club might relent partially on his reported valuation if they miss out on the top five, they might just try their luck for the 25-year-old in the summer.
