Man City agrees contract with £70 million star following private talks regarding sensational agreement – report

Manchester City have been quietly working to sign Morgan Gibbs-White, according to a source, as Nottingham Forest prepare for a devastating double exit.

In August 2022, Gibbs-White joined Forest on a five-year contract from Wolverhampton Wanderers, becoming the club’s record signing. Forest spent an initial £25 million for the attacking midfielder, with the deal having the potential to increase to £42.5 million through add-ons.

It was a substantial investment for Forest at the time, but Gibbs-White has shown to be well worth the money.

He captained the club in the bulk of Premier League games last season, scoring seven goals and providing ten assists in 34 appearances.

Gibbs-White was instrumental in Forest’s push for a Champions League spot, although they eventually dropped down the table and qualified for the Europa Conference League.

However, it is unclear whether the playmaker will remain with Forest to lead them in their first European campaign in 30 years.

According to Football Insider, Hugo Viana, Manchester City’s new head of football, has been ‘working behind the scenes’ on a Gibbs-White deal in recent weeks.

That preparation has resulted in a ‘agreement on personal terms’, with the four-cap England international having’made up his mind on joining Man City’.

Pep Guardiola’s team is yet to reach an agreement with Forest, but they are expected to begin talks with their Premier League opponents soon.

Forest are on the verge of losing two of their most vital offensive weapons, with Gibbs-White a top City target and winger Anthony Elanga reportedly close to joining Newcastle United.

Newcastle has had its £55 million bid for Elanga accepted. Forest does not want to lose the duo, but they are forced to contemplate selling to alleviate financial pressure.

City have already signed Rayan Cherki, but it appears they are looking for another No 10 to help replace Kevin De Bruyne, with Gibbs-White in their sights.

Morgan Gibbs-White and Matheus Nunes could swap clubs.

On May 20, TEAMtalk exclusively learned that Gibbs-White wants to move to City to advance his career. The Cityzens had hoped to replace De Bruyne with Florian Wirtz, but switched to Cherki and Gibbs-White after determining the new Liverpool player would be too pricey.

On May 25, it was revealed that City could utilize Forest target Matheus Nunes in a deal for Gibbs-White to help reduce the operation’s costs.

If City signed the 25-year-old outright, without a player-plus-cash deal, he would cost around £70 million (€81 million / $95 million).

On June 5, sources told us that Chelsea was interested in signing both Gibbs-White and West Ham United’s Mohammed Kudus.

However, Chelsea chose to sign Joao Pedro from Brighton & Hove Albion, while Kudus is close to joining Tottenham Hotspur.

Man City transfer news: Talks for two major players

Meanwhile, City has apparently been contacted by the agents of a Real Madrid star, who might compete with Liverpool and Arsenal for his services.

According to rumors, City have also began talks to sign a Champions League finalist from Inter Milan.

You can view every completed City transfer from this summer here.

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