Sheffield United: The hilarious Tweet from a fan that convinced Morgan Gibbs-White to stay
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The midfielder, on loan from the Premier League club, urged officials at Molineux not to terminate his stay with Paul Heckingbottom’s side during the January transfer window when it emerged Bruno Lage was considering activating a recall clause.
Speaking ahead of tomorrow’s game against Nottingham Forest, Gibbs-White explained how “the love” United supporters have shown him since arriving in South Yorkshire prompted him to urge Heckingbottom’s counterpart to allow him to return once he had recovered from injury.
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Hide AdOne message, sent via social media, made a particular impression on Gibbs-White during his battle to overcome a knee problem sustained during December’s win over Fulham.
“I’ve seen a few Tweets that have made me giggle,” he told The Star. “There was one saying something like ‘I’ll give my right kidney if you stay.’ Hopefully that hasn’t happened but it certainly made me think, as you’d expect.
“I was always pushing to come back here. I’ve made a real investment, emotionally, in this place. And that investment comes from the fans because of the love they have shown me since day one. Really, it’s been second to none.”
Gibbs-White was on target when United, now seventh in the table, drew with Forest at the City Ground earlier this term. Two of the seven goals he has scored following after completing his temporary move from Wolves came against Swansea City last month; another team the 22-year-old has represented on loan.
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Hide Ad“Swansea is an unbelievable club and I thank them to this day,” Gibbs-White continued, explaining why he celebrated both those strikes rather than refuse to acknowledge them. “I thank them to this day for what they did for me. I feel so wanted here, though, because of how the fans have been with me. It really makes you want to go out there and play for them.
“It’s not surprised me how they are, because I’ve seen how loud and loyal they are in the past.”
With Forest two places and points behind United in the rankings, retaining Gibbs-White’s services until May could prove to be a defining moment of a campaign Heckingbottom believes can end in promotion.
With fellow youngster Iliman Ndiaye suffering a downturn in form and Oli McBurnie labouring through matches following a series of health issues, Gibbs-White’s creative skills could be the difference between going up via the play-offs and remaining in the second tier; for another 12 months at least.
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Hide Ad“I was always pushing to come back here,” Gibbs-White said. “We have a project here that I want to be involved in and before I got injured I was loving every moment.
“As a player, all you want to do is enjoy your football. There were a lot of talks going on between me, the manager (Lage) and the owners. But in the end, we all came to the agreement that the best thing was for me to come back here and continue my development.”