This is a new year. Is this Liverpool’s year? Let’s not be too hasty – especially with Arsenal narrowing the deficit in the Premier League title race with an impressive win at Brentford – but the Reds are fixed in pole position.
The Saka-less Gunners reduced the gap to six points, leapfrogging Nottingham Forest into second place. There’s still a sizeable gap to bridge toward Liverpool, who also have a game in hand, but too many false dawns have stretched across Merseyside in recent years.
Liverpool have plenty of success stories over the past decade, but plenty more agonising flashbacks besides. That’s football. It’s staggering that Arne Slot has done so well after gripping Jurgen Klopp’s baton last summer, taking Liverpool to another level that promises, at least, gripping showdowns across multiple cylinders.
Signings are needed though to complement – hopefully – some stirring contractual resolutions. Liverpool merely dipped their toes into the market last summer, but will need to strengthen considerably this year, lest their rivals catch up and overtake them this year and next.
Liverpool looking at big signing this year
As per Football Insider, Liverpool have made Morgan Gibbs-White their top target this year, with the dynamic midfielder endowed with the completeness to make more than a few ripples within Anfield’s squad.
It’s claimed that FSG’s recruitment team have upped their interest in the Nottingham Forest star ‘ahead of the January and summer transfer windows’, suggesting that a move this winter isn’t out of the question.
Gibbs-White has been the life-juice of Nuno Espirito Santo’s third-placed side this year, and prising him away won’t be easy. In fact, he was valued at £60m by his outfit during the off-season and they will hardly be looking for a reduced figure after the progress this term.
What Morgan Gibbs-White would bring to Anfield
Nottingham Forest appeared to splurge upon their return to the Premier League in 2022, scattergunning across the market as they sought to preserve their place back in the big time. It worked. Just.
But English football felt that business had been conducted haphazardly. English football was wrong. The Tricky Trees have burgeoned into one of the most steely and cohesive units in the Premier League, with Gibbs-White pulling the strings from the middle.
Forest signed Wolves’ talent in August 2022 for a fee rising as high as £42.5m, something that was met with derision from many circles of the Premier League’s sprawling support base. The Tricky Trees will feel that they’ve had the latest laugh, for Gibbs-White is one of the highest-performing midfielders in the Premier League this season.
Still only 24, Gibbs-White has now claimed 35 goal contributions from 95 appearances, and having been praised as a “monster in transition” by one analyst, the Englishman’s general play is highlighted, with such an impressive distinction through his playmaking, yes, but also his defensive work and on-the-ball retention.
Also praised for his “magic tricks” by reporter Jamie Martin, the £80k-per-week star has the quick-footed, fast-thinking style that works perfectly at the City Ground, marrying flair with tactical pragmaticism.
There’s also a combativeness to him and a sense of responsibility too. The free-scoring Chris Wood has commented on Gibbs-White becoming a “really positive leader for Forest” who is “always looking to progress the team.”
Bearing the full package, Gibbs-White could even become Slot’s own version of Steven Gerrard at Liverpool. That’s a bold claim, but just hear us out.
Slot's own Steven Gerrard
Steven George Gerrard. Liverpool’s ultimate superstar. The iconic England midfielder engineered the greatest Champions League triumph in history, played 710 times for his boyhood club and registered 341 goal contributions.
The Premier League title eluded him but he remained on Merseyside throughout his European career and knitted a connection with the city that will endure forever.
He was the perfect centre-midfielder, in many ways, for his all-encompassing nature made him a force to be reckoned with across the various roles. Eight, six, ten – he could do it all, and with panache at that.
Gibbs-White has the prototypical skill set to assume the kind of dynamic approach that Gerrard once plied in the Premier League, with his ball-playing and -carrying skills reminiscent of the Scouse hero. Moreover, Forest’s midfield talisman has fostered an impressive defensive game through Nuno’s strategic system.
The skills learned during this time are transferrable, and Liverpool would be sure to reap the rewards of such an impressive tactical range. In fact, Gibbs-White has even been warmly referred to as the “Aldi Jude Bellingham” by BBC analyst Raj Chohan, praising his athleticism and ability to plough through even the most noble of defensive lines.
Matches (starts)
15 (15)
14 (14)
Goals
3
6
Assists
3
4
Shots (on target)*
1.7 (0.9)
1.4 (0.6)
Pass completion
80%
89%
Key passes*
1.8
1.1
Dribbles*
1.4
1.1
Ball recoveries*
4.1
3.0
Tackles + interceptions*
2.3
3.0
Total duels (won)*
5.3 (46%)
5.4 (57%)
Bellingham is cut from a similar cloth as Gerrard, describing the retired pro as his “hero” and admitting that he has attempted to incorporate similar aspects into his own game.
Jamie Carragher has also waxed lyrical about Bellingham and drawn him against a prime Gerrard, with his strength across every single area something unique and hardly replicable.
Ultimately, Liverpool know that their lionised skipper is someone who will never be replaced, not really, but through Gibbs-White, whose silky ranged passing, crunching challenges and leadership skills provide him with the template, there could be a second coming to a lesser degree.
One thing’s for certain: Slot’s tactical acumen would only elevate Gibbs-White’s impressive game over the coming years, and while he’s been eye-catching since moving to Nottingham, at Liverpool he would raise his game by many levels.
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ByAngus Sinclair Jan 2, 2025