Wolves technical director Scott Sellars is hopeful that the club can keep Morgan Gibbs-White this summer.

The 22-year-old has attracted interest from the likes of Nottingham Forest following a successful loan stint with Sheffield United in the last campaign.

The Premier League side has set a £25 million price tag on the forward, and are looking to agree a new contract with the England U21 international.

Gibbs-White scored 12 goals for the Blades in the Championship, adding 10 assists to an impressive tally of goal contributions.

Paul Heckingbottom’s side finished 5th in the table, falling just short of promotion with a play-off semi-final loss to Forest on penalties.

Despite transfer speculation, Bruno Lage is keen to keep the youngster at Molineux for next season.

Sellars believes that the club has the backing of the current owners to build a talented pool of homegrown talent for the side.

“From the first day that Fosun came in, I was working in the academy and they said the academy was vital,” said Sellars, via Birmingham Live.

“It was going to be the big area that they wanted to develop players.

"And again, if we look at development players, we look at the performances of Morgan [Gibbs-White] and Dion Sanderson and Ryan Giles and Matty Sarkic, all probably performing at an elite standard in the Championship and three of those boys have been here since they were eight. 

“So there’s been a lot of hard work over the years by people to really give these boys a chance and I’d like to think they’ll come back into the football club and progress with us as well."

 

 

Regardless of where Gibbs-White will play next season, it appears highly likely that he will be a Premier League player going forward, dashing any hopes Sheffield United had of retaining his services for another campaign.

The Verdict

Gibbs-White has deservedly attracted transfer interest this summer with his standout performances in the second division.

Wolves will need to offer guarantees related to playing time in order to keep the forward.

Forest will likely be able to ensure Gibbs-White a key place in Steve Cooper’s side, which could strengthen their position in negotiations.

However, the £25 million price tag could be enough to deter the Reds from making any concrete offers for the player.