Sheffield United: Why Leeds United and Nottingham Forest target Morgan Gibbs-White will always be loved at the Lane

As far as first impressions go, it was as good as they come for Morgan Gibbs-White.
Morgan Gibbs-White waves goodbye to Bramall Lane: Simon Bellis / SportimageMorgan Gibbs-White waves goodbye to Bramall Lane: Simon Bellis / Sportimage
Morgan Gibbs-White waves goodbye to Bramall Lane: Simon Bellis / Sportimage

September 11, 2022, his debut for Sheffield United after signing on loan from Wolves. Blades 6, Peterborough 2. A goal and an assist, and a standing ovation from around 27,000 Blades. A taste of things to come.

If anyone privately suspected that the young England international had perhaps peaked too soon, they were sorely mistaken. Many young players arriving at Bramall Lane have started strongly and then faded, but if anything Gibbs-White got better and better and only Dean Henderson, in recent memory, was taken to as much by Unitedites after signing on a temporary basis.

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“Don’t fall in love with a loan player again,” wrote one fan, repeatedly, on Twitter. The accompanying gif of Britney Spears, singing ‘Oops, I did it again’, sums up nicely the impact that Gibbs-White had during his season at Bramall Lane.

The only shame

The only shame, really, is how it ended, with a missed penalty in the Blades’ spot-kick play-off defeat at Nottingham Forest that consigned them to another year of Championship football. If things had gone differently, who knows? Gibbs-White is being linked with eventual play-off winners Forest this summer in a £20m deal, which would be a steal. Leeds United and Southampton have also been linked.

While his future is uncertain, it seems obvious that his time at United is up for now – once again showing how cruel football can be, because the association didn’t deserve to end the way it did. A penalty saved, a dream over. Ushered off the pitch while Forest fans celebrated and Blades in the away end were denied a chance to say farewell.

Although United, under Slavisa Jokanović, never replicated the heights of that pasting of Peterborough – which also saw Iliman Ndiaye unleashed at last and score twice – it was only the start for Gibbs-White, who added an early goal against Preston in his second game for good measure.

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A second yellow card in the painful, late home defeat to Millwall, for diving, was the only blot on his copybook; the only real remnant of his Premier League grounding. Aside, of course, from his unbelievable and undeniable individual quality.

Why Blades fans loved MGW

That sort of bums-off-seats talent will always excite supporters, but it was the other side of the game that truly earmarked Gibbs-White as special. His work off the ball was almost as impressive as on it at times, as he harried defenders and led from the front defensively. He looked out on his feet in extra time against Forest in the play-offs but, recognising that an injury-hit Blades side needed him to step up, never stopped running and scored early in the second half to give United hope.

Morgan Gibbs-White on his first day as a Sheffield United player: Simon Bellis/SportimageMorgan Gibbs-White on his first day as a Sheffield United player: Simon Bellis/Sportimage
Morgan Gibbs-White on his first day as a Sheffield United player: Simon Bellis/Sportimage

That was the feeling with Gibbs-White in the team. Hope. There was always hope. No matter how the game was going, or how he was playing. There was always the chance he would pull something out of the bag. With United struggling to break down a stubborn Cardiff side, his stunning deep cross picked out Ndiaye to head home the winner; in another season, where George Baldock didn’t score a volley worthy of the FIFA Puskás award, he could have won United’s goal of the season award three times over.

The overhead kick at Bristol City was technique personified; the stunning curled effort away at Cardiff City showcased his vision and confidence. But the best of the lot, a remarkable flicked volley at home to Chris Wilder’s Middlesbrough, showcased everything good about Gibbs-White in one small but seismic moment.

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The combativeness to challenge for the loose ball and presence of mind to race into position to anticipate the cross. The vision – while facing the corner flag - to calculate where he is between two defenders and how far away from goal. The confidence to try a remarkable pirouetted-flicked-volley in mid-air. And above all, the ability to see it nestle in the far corner, past the half-dive of a perplexed Joe Lumley.

Morgan Gibbs-White scored on his final Sheffield United appearance, at Nottingham Forest, before later missing a penalty in the shootout: Andrew Yates / SportimageMorgan Gibbs-White scored on his final Sheffield United appearance, at Nottingham Forest, before later missing a penalty in the shootout: Andrew Yates / Sportimage
Morgan Gibbs-White scored on his final Sheffield United appearance, at Nottingham Forest, before later missing a penalty in the shootout: Andrew Yates / Sportimage

“Goodness me,” said commentator Andy Giddings on Radio Sheffield. “Well, that is a goal of exceptional quality.” From a player of exceptional quality.

Once a Blade, always a Blade

In a farewell statement on social media that felt from the heart, rather than the usual platitudes, Gibbs-White hailed United for bringing him some of the best memories of his formative career so far. “I don’t think there will be a more exciting feeling than scoring in front of the Kop end,” he added. “I wish you all nothing but the best in the future. Once a Blade, always a Blade.”

This was a young man who bought fully into what it meant to wear those red and white stripes. His partner, the model and law student Britney De Villiers, was spotted cheering on Gibbs-White from the stands amongst fellow Unitedites and wherever his career and their life takes them next, you suspect there will always be fond memories of this small corner of South Yorkshire.

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What next for United? As good as Gibbs-White was for United, the Blades were also good for him – giving him a platform to showcase his undoubted quality and propel him to a probable Premier League move and a call-up to train with the England senior squad.

Morgan Gibbs-White in action for England U21s=: Andrew Yates / SportimageMorgan Gibbs-White in action for England U21s=: Andrew Yates / Sportimage
Morgan Gibbs-White in action for England U21s=: Andrew Yates / Sportimage

Their work with Gibbs-White and Henderson will further enhance United’s reputation, hopefully ensuring the flow of top-flight talent being dispatched to Bramall Lane continues in the future. Sooner rather than later, United will have to lessen their reliance on loans. But until that day comes, Gibbs-White has provided the perfect template for any young man to follow in South Yorkshire – and wherever he ends up next, so many Blades fans will wish him nothing but the best.

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