Nottingham Forest should “show the love” to star midfielders Morgan Gibbs-White and Brennan Johnson by offering them new and improved contracts.
That’s the view of Reds fan and broadcaster Darren Fletcher of the dynamic duo who only signed long-term deals last summer, with Johnson committing himself to the City Ground on a four year contract until 2026 and Gibbs-White signing a five-year deal to take him to 2027.
But Fletcher fears Forest’s “biggest concern” over the next 18 months is keeping hold of their two best players who, he says, are already on the radar of the Premier League big boys who have the lure of Champions’ League football.
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“The one thing that has stood out like a beacon to me this season, even when he was settling in, was the energy that Morgan Gibbs-White shows in performance after performance,” said Fletcher, speaking on the Garibaldi Red podcast. “I think he’s become Forest’s best player, and I think that when your best player is also your hardest working player, it’s a great message for everybody else.
“One of my mates who is a season ticket holder said to me that even when he goes to retrieve the ball for a throw-in he sprints to get the ball to get it back in quicker because he wants to play fast, and that’s infectious. So I think his whole attitude towards trying to become Forest’s talismanic figure has been exemplary.”
He added: “I’m a massive fan of Brennan Johnson. I think he’s got the world at his feet; I think he’s young and if we sit here and assess him at 25, we’ll be waxing lyrical about a very, very good footballer because he’s got the work ethic, he’s got a good family behind him – his dad’s got experience of doing what he’s doing and can guide him through the rougher waters – but whenever you come through the academy at Forest you have a resilient character. They are like sponges because they are put into a situation from the age of nine where they are asked a lot of questions, a lot of things go against them and it’s a difficult journey.
“I know this because my boy is doing it at the minute, so I am seeing it now at first hand and know the kind of characters are being produced from the system. And knowing the type of characters they are tells you that they’ll continue to get better and that they have got the right attitude to the process they are involved with.
“Now, I think Forest’s biggest concern is that over the next 18 months clubs are going to want to buy Brennan Johnson and clubs are going to want to buy Morgan Gibbs-White. If Morgan Gibbs-White gets into the England team and if he continues to develop at the rate he is, what a football he’s going to be!
“I mean, he’s good now but then straight away you start to see, is James Maddison going to be a Leicester player at the start of next season? Is someone going to come and buy him for a lot of money after the development we have seen in him at Leicester.
“Those two players are on the big clubs’ radars now; the clubs that want to pay top whack for players and put them in the Champions League and that type of thing, so I think Forest’s big challenge, if they keep developing at the rate they’re developing at, is just being able to hang onto them and make sure we do get to see the very best years of Brennan Johnson and Morgan Gibbs-White in the Garibaldi. “That’s what we all want to see but whether that’s possible is going to be down to the owner, down to them, circumstances... There’s a lot in play here as to whether in two or three years’ time we get to keep them or whether they are on to big, big things.”
Put it to him that it wouldn’t be a surprise to see them sign improved contracts fairly soon, Fletcher added: “I’d do it now. I would show the love now. I would say to them, ‘look, you are our future, you are our core and this team is going to be built around you. There’s our loyalty to you, we’re going to get you in to negotiate and make sure you build value. And on the back of that we want loyalty from you, and we’re going to do this together.’
“And I think if they went about it in that way, certainly in Brennan’s case because he’s Forest through and through, that would resonate a lot with him.”
Do you think Forest can keep Johnson and Gibbs-White with new and improved deals? Have your say in the comments section below...
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