Morgan Gibbs-White: The Next England Star in the No.10 Role
English football has rarely been so crowded with artists in the No.10 role. At the top of that pyramid sits Jude Bellingham, the Real Madrid “Galactico” who has turned the position into his personal stage. Behind him, a queue: Cole Palmer, Morgan Rogers, Eberechi Eze, Phil Foden. Josh King, just 19 and already rising fast at Fulham, is forcing his name into the conversation as well.
In that traffic jam of talent stands Morgan Gibbs-White, a player who did everything last season to smash the glass ceiling and still found it barely cracked.
From the start of 2026 to the end of the campaign, Gibbs-White caught fire. Twelve goals for Nottingham Forest across all competitions, a purple patch that dragged his club away from relegation trouble and carried them all the way to the Europa League semi-finals. He was Forest’s creative heartbeat and emotional pulse, the man who wanted the ball when others didn’t.
It still wasn’t enough.
When Thomas Tuchel named his World Cup squad for North America, Gibbs-White stayed at home. Tuchel looked elsewhere, trusting different options, and when the next UEFA Nations League campaign came around, the Forest playmaker found himself overlooked again.
Only misfortune opened the door. Palmer’s setback at Chelsea created a vacancy, and this time Tuchel turned to the mercurial 26-year-old. A call-up at last, but with a question attached: is he destined to be permanently “next in line”?
The obvious debate follows. To truly change his England status, does he need to move? Would a Champions League club, with the weekly glare of Europe’s elite, tilt the scales in his favour?
Des Walker doesn’t buy that theory.
The Forest great, speaking to GOAL in association with Power Up Gaming, pointed to a recent example from the City Ground. “[Elliot] Anderson became an England regular while he was a Forest player, so I don’t think the club you play for is necessarily the issue. With the current England manager, I don’t think he’s too bothered about which club you represent. If he likes you and thinks you’re a good player, he’ll pick you.”
For Walker, the obstacle is not the shirt Gibbs-White wears on a Saturday. It’s the sheer quality of those vying for the same role.
“The difficulty for Gibbs-White is that there are some very good players in his position. He’s come into the squad because Cole Palmer dropped out, so that puts him behind Palmer. Then you’ve got Foden and Morgan Rogers making their cases for that position too. There’s a lot of competition, but that’s how it should be when you play for England.”
Walker’s assessment cuts to the core. Gibbs-White dazzled at the end of last season, but the entire campaign told a more nuanced story.
“I thought Gibbs-White finished last season fantastically, although over the whole season he perhaps wasn’t as consistent as some of the others. That’s what he has to address this season – consistency.”
That word will define his international future. Not the odd flourish, not the hot streak across a few months, but the relentless, repeatable influence that makes a manager trust you in June as much as in January.
Right now, though, the door is open. Palmer’s absence has created a sliver of opportunity, and Walker knows how quickly that can become something more substantial.
“But now he’s got his chance. You only need one game where you get on that pitch and boss it, and suddenly you’re right in the fold. Cole Palmer dropping out has given him that little bit of luck, so he has to take advantage of it.”
The easy narrative is to frame Forest as the ceiling. Walker tears that down as well, pointing to James Maddison’s path as a warning against lazy assumptions.
“I don’t think playing for Forest hinders him. Look at James Maddison going from Leicester to Tottenham – that move didn’t keep him in the England team. It isn’t necessarily a move that gets you into the England squad. It’s playing well. That’s what Gibbs-White has to focus on. And if he plays well, that’s probably when the move comes anyway.”
For now, Forest is his stage, and he has started 2026-27 as if determined to keep the spotlight. His first goal of the season came from the penalty spot in a 2-2 draw away at Liverpool, a pressure moment at Anfield that he handled with the composure of a man who believes he belongs at this level and beyond.
New manager Oliver Glasner clearly shares that belief. Since taking over on Trentside, he has continued to hand the captain’s armband to Gibbs-White, trusting his enigmatic No.10 to lead not just with his feet but with his personality.
That is where Gibbs-White never falls short. Effort is non-negotiable. He runs, presses, scraps, demands, and rarely dips below full throttle. The question is whether that drive, married to his flair, can now translate into something more permanent in an England shirt.
Six senior caps sit on his record. Over the next fortnight, the Three Lions face Spain, Czechia and Croatia. High-calibre opponents, high-pressure environments, exactly the kind of games in which reputations harden or fade.
Gibbs-White has his opening. If he can seize it and “boss it”, as Walker puts it, he won’t just be next in line anymore – he’ll be part of the conversation every time England teamsheets are drawn up.
