Gibbs-White's month to prove World Cup worth
Morgan Gibbs-White has hit form at the right time with Nottingham Forest - but did not make Thomas Tuchel's 35-man England squad last month. If he is to make it to the World Cup, time is tight.
He won the Under-17 World Cup in 2017 and the European Championship with Lee Carsley's Under-21s three years ago. Yet Gibbs-White is still some way down Tuchel's pecking order. He last played for the Three Lions in October's 3-0 win over Wales, having had 12 minutes in the World Cup qualifier against Andorra in September.
Over his six caps he has played just 89 minutes after being handed his debut by Carsley as a second-half substitute against the Republic of Ireland in September 2024. But Tuchel is yet to put his full faith in Gibbs-White, despite others struggling for consistency this season. Cole Palmer, Eberechi Eze, Morgan Rogers, Phil Foden and Jude Bellingham - all called up for last month's friendlies - are ahead of him in the contest to be England's number 10.
Gibbs-White (2,819) and Aston Villa 's Rogers (2,925) have played the most minutes this season of the number 10 contenders - over a thousand more than Palmer - to underline their importance to their respective sides. And Gibbs-White is the second-highest English scorer in the Premier League with 12 - with Brighton 's Danny Welbeck on 13. Palmer and Rogers have nine each - but the Villa man has just two in his past 16 games while five of the Chelsea forward's goals have been penalties.
Only Foden and Bellingham have created more chances per 90 minutes than Gibbs-White's 1. 4 but the Forest player has the lowest expected assist figures. Gibbs-White is not as involved in the box as most of the others, perhaps down to Forest's Premier League struggles, with only Eze (3.