Nottingham Forest ace Morgan Gibbs-White has been singled out as the Premier League’s best signing of the season by Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher.
And the former defender would like to see the Reds attacker included in the England squad for next month’s Euro 2024 qualifiers. Gibbs-White will soon find out if he has made the cut as the announcement for manager Gareth Southgate’s selection will be made at 2pm tomorrow (Wednesday, May 24).
Gibbs-White was close to earning a first senior call-up in the last round of Three Lions fixtures, having impressed in the Garibaldi. He has maintained that form for Steve Cooper’s side, playing a key role in Forest’s Premier League survival mission.
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The 23-year-old made the move to the City Ground from Wolverhampton Wanderers last summer in a club record deal, with an initial £25 million being splashed out to secure his services. Carragher believes it was money well spent, picking Gibbs-White ahead of Manchester City’s Manul Akanji for signing of the season.
“I was debating between two players,” he said on Monday Night Football. “Obviously we couldn’t pick (Erling) Haaland because we had picked him for the best player, so I went for Akanji or Morgan Gibbs-White at the last minute. I wasn’t quite sure.
“It looks like I’m going with Akanji. Can I do a live change? I’ll do a live change.
“I think Akanji’s been brilliant because it wasn’t a massive amount of money. I thought he’d just be a squad player, but he’s made himself a mainstay. He’s played right-back, centre-back and left-back. But I think the fact he’s playing for Man City…
“The other player I was thinking about was Morgan Gibbs-White, who, I wouldn’t say single-handedly kept Nottingham Forest in the league, but every time I watch him… He came with a big price tag, so he had a lot of eyes on him, but I think he’s justified that.
“I think he must be really close to the England squad. I really do believe he should be in the next England squad. I’m going to go for Morgan Gibbs-White.”
Gibbs-White has represented his country at various age group levels. He will hope to be involved with Southgate’s group for the qualifiers against Malta and North Macedonia which take place on June 16 and 19 respectively.
Cooper, who worked with Gibbs-White at England youth level, has said of the youngster potentially making the next step: "I’ve picked international teams, not at Gareth’s level, but I understand the repercussions it has with clubs etc. Gareth knows what he’s doing and if there’s ever the right time he feels someone should go in the squad, he does that.
"Morgan just has to keep his head down and keep working hard. Playing for England is really important to him and I know he is committed to the Under-21s as well. He’s gone through the real journey with England from Under-15s and continuing that, and I know he wants to continue."
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