Morgan Gibbs-White chose to stay at Sheffield United in January over a Wolves return, Bruno Lage has revealed to The Athletic.

The 22-year-old, who has enjoyed an excellent stint with the Blades thus far, has chipped in with eight goals and seven assists so far this season.

Bruno Lage revealed to The Athletic that the exciting attacking midfielder was presented with the opportunity to return to the Premier League club and compete for a regular starting spot, however, he opted to stay in Yorkshire. 

Sitting fifth in the Championship standings, the Blades have a great chance of securing promotion back to the Premier League, with Gibbs-White emerging as an important part of the club's push for promotion.

Speaking to The Athletic about Gibbs-White and their January talks, Lage said: “I didn’t put pressure on him, but I said, ‘If you want to stay now in January with us, you can and I’ll be happy to work with you.

“I had the feeling maybe Adama (Traore) would go. So I said, ‘If you think it’s more important for you to return to Sheffield United and continue the work you’re doing there, I’ll be happy in the same way.

“Or if you want to stay, accept the challenge to fight with (Francisco) Trincao, with Pedro (Neto), with Daniel (Podence) and with Hwang (Hee-chan).

“So, I put in his hands the decision. We had a good talk. Every time I follow what he’s doing, every time he scores I have a guy who works with me who sends the good things the guys are doing, not just Morgan.

“He knows I’m following what he’s doing and he knows what we talked about in January.”

The verdict 

Gibbs-White has been showing Premier League quality all season, so it is no surprise that Lage believes that he could have returned to Molineux to compete for a regular starting spot. 

However, he is someone that has grown integral to Sheffield United's promotion push and he could play a big part in what remains of the season too, especially with automatic promotion still a possibility. 

The young midfield has enjoyed a really productive loan stint with the Blades thus far, with this spell being the first time he has seen regular appearances in a first-test set up.

Heckingbottom has shown a lot of faith in Gibbs-White and he is certainly being rewarded for doing so.