Is Gibbs-White the best Premier League player of 2026?
We analyse the Nottingham Forest midfielder’s sensational form and compare his stats to other Premier League stars
Football writer Adrian Clarke assesses Nottingham Forest talisman Gibbs-White and looks at how he’s become one of the league’s most in-form players.
Player analysis: Morgan Gibbs-White (Nottingham Forest)
Gibbs-White has been sensational during the second half of the season, stepping up for Nottingham Forest just when his relegation-threatened side needed him most.
The 26-year-old has worn the captain’s armband and led by example, scoring 10 Premier League goals and making two assists since the turn of the year.
Netting seven goals since the start of March alone, including five in his last four appearances, Gibbs-White’s contributions have played a colossal part in helping Forest to pull five points clear of the relegation zone.
Is Gibbs-White the Premier League’s best player of 2026?
Only one individual can surpass Gibbs-White’s numbers this calendar year, and that is talismanic Manchester United skipper Bruno Fernandes.
The Portuguese star is the only player you can consider in the same breath as Forest’s main main during 2026, given he has created 12 goals in 14 matches and scored three times himself.
Most goals and assists in 2026
| Player | Goals | Assists | G+A |
| Bruno Fernandes (MUN) | 3 | 12 | 15 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Morgan Gibbs-White (NFO) | 10 | 2 | 12 |
| Jarrod Bowen (WHU) | 2 | 9 | 11 |
| Joao Pedro (CHE) | 8 | 2 | 10 |
| Igor Thiago (BRE) | 10 | 0 | 10 |
*Scroll across to see the full table.
They have each inspired their respective teams to be on the brink of reaching their end of season targets.
For United, qualification for the UEFA Champions League is now in touching distance, while Vitor Pereira’s men are perhaps just one win away from confirming their Premier League status, with five points separating them from 18th-placed Tottenham Hotspur with four games remaining.
Without either man this would not have been possible.
Another captain worthy of praise is Jarrod Bowen, who has delivered 11 goal involvements for West Ham United in 2026.
Improved shot quality and efficiency
As a goalscorer, Gibbs-White is simply on fire.
Brentford’s Igor Thiago is the only other player to have hit double figures for goals in 2026.
Surrounded by strikers on this list below, it is a remarkable feat for the attacking midfielder – who had never previously surpassed seven Premier League goals in a season – to have delivered so many vital strikes.
Leading goalscorers in 2026
| Player | Goals |
|---|---|
| Igor Thiago (BRE) | 10 |
| Morgan Gibbs-White (NFO) | |
| Joao Pedro (CHE) | 8 |
| Benjamin Sesko (MUN) | |
| Beto (EVE) | 7 |
| Viktor Gyokeres (ARS) |
Gibbs-White’s success is in no small part down to his lethal finishing.
The three goals he scored this season in 2025, arrived from a 7.5 per cent shot conversion rate, which has improved markedly to 28.6 per cent since 1 January.
That ruthlessness is underlined by his scoring rate of one goal every 130 minutes in 2026.
As shown on the shot maps below, Gibbs-White has had fewer attempts from close range than he did between August and December, but the quality of his shooting has gone up a level.
Gibbs-White’s shot map (Aug-Dec)
Gibbs-White shot map (Jan-April)
The quality of Gibbs-White’s 10 goals, which include three headers, also deserve admiration.
Early in the year he raced through on a 1v1 at Villa Park before cheekily dinking Emiliano Martinez.
At Brighton & Hove Albion the midfielder struck an exceptionally clean shot from outside the box to score.
More recently, he delivered a sumptuous, improvised back heel to help take a valuable point away to Manchester City.
As part of his hat-trick against Burnley, Gibbs-White produced a brilliant one-touch volley from a deep right-wing cross and a sensational header to secure the match ball.
Watch: Morgan Gibbs-White’s first career HAT-TRICK
Elite creation levels
Given freedom by Vitor Pereira to roam across the pitch in search of space, the England international – who must surely be on Thomas Tuchel’s FIFA World Cup radar – is also revelling in the creative aspect of his game.
His delightful run and pass for Chris Wood’s strike in the 5-0 win at Sunderland is one of 23 chances he has created from open play this year.
In fact, only three Premier League stars can top that figure. So, Gibbs-White is unfortunate not to have made many more than his three assists this season.
Most chances created from open play in 2026
| Player | Chances created |
|---|---|
| Bruno Fernandes (MUN) | 51 |
| Florian Wirtz (LIV) | 27 |
| Morgan Gibbs-White (NFO) | 23 |
| Enzo Fernandez (CHE) | 23 |
| Morgan Rogers (AVL) | 23 |
| Callum Hudson-Odoi (NFO) | 23 |
The perfect all-rounder?
In the past, gifted No 10s in the mould of Gibbs-White were often seen as luxury players, who only came alive when their team was in possession.
Nottingham Forest’s talisman cannot be labelled in the same way.
Regaining possession over 100 times, and winning 73 per cent of his tackles, he is very much a team player.
Gibbs-White is also a wonderful athlete, who covers extraordinary distances per match.
Ranking ninth in the Premier League for ‘Distance Ran’, he has covered over 350km since the start of the 2025/26 season.
Putting that into context, he has run the equivalent of Nottingham to Edinburgh, often at explosive speeds.
Most distance run among attacking midfielders and wingers in 2025/26
| Player | Distance (km) | Goals+Assists |
| Morgan Rogers (AVL) | 367.36 | 14 |
|---|---|---|
| Morgan Gibbs-White (NFO) | 350.15 | 16 |
| Jarrod Bowen (WHU) | 348.22 | 18 |
| Dominik Szoboszlai (LIV) | 342.79 | 9 |
| Bruno Fernandes (MUN) | 331.89 | 27 |
As shown above, the only top-flight attacking midfielder or winger to have run further is Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers.
Interestingly, all the names of this top five list also marry great industry with terrific end product at the top end of the pitch.
Many of the division’s most creative talents are the opposite of work shy.
Has Pereira found him a new role?
Up until Matchweek 32 there had been no major tactical tweaks from Forest’s new head coach to extract more from Gibbs-White.
He did start as part of a front two in a surprise 5-3-2 at Man City, and was used on the left at home to Fulham, but otherwise, he had been utilised as a central No 10.
That changed at half-time against Burnley on Matchweek 33 when Pereira switched from 4-2-3-1 to 4-4-2, pairing Wood and Igor Jesus up front, in response to Forest trailing 1-0.
Gibbs-White moved to the left wing for the remainder of that contest, scoring a stunning second half hat-trick from that role.
Repeatedly popping up inside the danger zone undetected, he scored three goals from four second half attempts.
Pereira stuck with that formation when beating Sunderland 5-0 last Friday, with Gibbs-White scoring and making an assist from the left wing.
Only from the 69th minute did Forest change to a 3-4-2-1 shape, with their captain then sliding infield as a left-sided No 10.
It will be fascinating to see if Gibbs-White is used on the left in two huge games for the club this week, at home to Aston Villa in the UEFA Europa League semi-final, and at Chelsea on Monday afternoon.
A special talent in the best form of his career
Wherever Pereira decides to play him, Gibbs-White has proven he is among the very best all-round attacking midfielders in the country.
Consistently supplying end product, as well as high effort levels, the 26-year-old is playing the best football of his career to date.
Gibbs-White, Mbeumo, Fernandes and Salah compared, 2025/26
| 2025/26 | Gibbs-White | Mbeumo | Fernandes | Salah |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Goals + Assists | 16 | 12 | 27 | 15 |
| Shots | 75 | 61 | 75 | 64 |
| Big chances created | 14 | 17 | 15 | 15 |
| Chances created | 45 | 43 | 114 | 48 |
When you set parameters just below Gibbs-White’s numbers for direct goal involvements, shots, big chances and chances created, he is one of only four very special talents that can match him across the board.
His value to Forest is extraordinarily high.