Last summer, all of the chatter from Nottingham Forest involved Morgan Gibbs-White.
For all the world it looked as though the attacking midfielder was going to join Tottenham Hotspur. However, Evangelos Marinakis stepped in, as he so often does, to give the England international a new contract.
Gibbs-White stayed at the City Ground and has played a colossal role in keeping the Tricky Trees in the Premier League. Had they sold him last summer, it’s likely they will have been staring relegation square in the face.
However, talk of a big name exit will not cease heading into the summer transfer window.
Nottingham Forest looking to an Elliot Anderson replacement
If last summer was all about Gibbs-White then this time around it is all about Elliot Anderson.
The midfielder is widely expected to partner Declan Rice at the World Cup and with a sharp increase in his stock, it has unsurprisingly attracted interest from some of England’s elite clubs.
Manchester United have made him their top target but their rivals, Manchester City, are said to be in pole position to prise the former Newcastle United man away from Nottingham. In the process, Marinakis and Co could welcome a £100m fee.
They could well put that towards relaunching a move for Hayden Hackney.
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Evangelos Marinakis has spent big in recent years.
Forest reportedly launched a bid for the player back in the winter transfer market but were understandably rebuffed as Middlesbrough hunted promotion out of the Championship. Yet, on Monday night, they were condemned to another year in the second-tier after losing their play-off semi-final to Southampton.
As a result, that has put the recruitment team at the City Ground on high alert. Football Insider report that, amid interest from Forest and Brighton, Boro may well be powerless to stopping Hackney from leaving.
It’s noted that the Teesiders could be forced into accepting a bid of £30m to let him go, and that a deal could be agreed ‘within days’ if the Reds were to ramp up their interest.
Why Hackey could be Forest’s best signing since Anderson
When Nottingham Forest signed a young Anderson from Newcastle for a whopping £35m back in 2024 it caused something of a stir.
The Magpies were reluctant to let a homegrown academy product leave but in an age of PSR, he represented pure profit. How they must regret letting the Geordie midfielder exit St James’ Park.
Anderson caught the eye last term but it is in 2025/26 where the 23-year-old has really caught the eye. He’s now an England regular and set to bank the club a hefty £75m profit if they rake in a £100m fee.
He’s a scorer of four goals, a supplier of three assists and he’s registered 13.8 defensive contributions (DEFCON) per 90 minutes, the second highest tally in the league behind Manuel Ugarte’s haul of 14.5.
Premier League DEFCON leaders
Player
DEFCON
1) Manuel Ugarte
14.5
2) Elliot Anderson
13.8
3) Rodrigo Bentancur
13.3
4) Florentino
13.2
5) Mats Wieffer
13.2
6) Casemiro
12.7
Replacing him will be a challenge but in Hackney, they could well seal their best signing since Anderson move from the north east to Nottingham.
Why? Well, he officially became the Championship’s Player of the Season for 2025/26 which tells you all you need to know. Boro may not have secured promotion but their 23-year-old midfielder was nothing short of exceptional.
Sure, he was playing a level below the Premier League, but he scored as many as six goals and supplied eight assists. To put that number into context, he has registed one more assist than Gibbs-White.
Capable of playing as an attacking midfielder or in a deep-lying role, no midfielder had more shots (2.6) per game than Hackney did in the Championship this season. No midfielder managed more than his 2.2 key passes per game, while only two midfielders – Yan Valery (1.6) and Leo Scienza (1.5) – amassed more than Hackney’s 1.4 dribbles per game.
He’s a huge threat, but for those perhaps worrying that he wouldn’t be able to make the step up to Premier League life, they only need to look at Gibbs-White progression.
It was not long ago that their star man was playing at Swansea City, delivering performances far below what the Middlesbrough midfielder has been demonstrating. Gibbs-White only scored once in six games with the Swans.
So, if Forest can beat the likes of Brighton to his signature, it would be quite the coup.
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