Why Nuno Espirito Santo never played Morgan Gibbs-White at Wolves after all of his Nottingham Forest success

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When Nuno Espirito Santo was appointed as Nottingham Forest manager at the end of 2023, he was reunited with Morgan Gibbs-White, who he seldom played as Wolverhampton Wanderers boss.

Nuno was immediately tasked with saving Forest from relegation, but he would have also been aware of the need to foster a better relationship with Gibbs-White than they had at Wolves.

At the time, Forest were 17th in the Premier League and with Steve Cooper in charge, they had just one win in 13 matches.

Nuno guided Forest to safety and now his side are third in the league after 20 games played, a remarkable achievement.

Furthermore, Gibbs-White has been at the heart of all of that success – so how have things changed?

Nuno Espirito Santo says Morgan Gibbs-White has become a ‘man’ at Forest

When he was first appointed as Forest manager, Nuno was asked about his reunion with Gibbs-White and Willy Boly, who also played under him at Wolves.

The Portuguese manager was clear – Gibbs-White was now a ‘man’ and had come a long way on the pitch under Cooper, too.

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He said: "I was happy to meet them (Gibbs-White and Boly) again.

"Morgan is a father now, he is a man. We had him when he was 16-years-old and we grew together. It is great to have him back.

"I think he is better now. He was younger, the talent was there. And I think Steve managed to put Morgan at a very good level, but like I always say, there are always things to improve.

"Morgan is achieving the right moment to take the next step. He is more mature, the talent is there, it is up to us to make him even better."

And thankfully for Forest fans, Nuno has helped Gibbs-White take another step forward, explaining why he was probably catching the eye of England boss Thomas Tuchel during a 3-0 away win at Wolves.

Morgan Gibbs-White didn’t suit Wolves’ formation

Of course, there were also tactical issues that prevented Gibbs-White from flourishing under Nuno at Wolves.

Gibbs-White didn't fit Nuno's 3-4-3, the formation that got Wolves promoted to the top-flight and was the bedrock of all of their new success.

The England international didn't suit sitting in one of the two deep midfield roles, nor was he a pacy forward who was ideal for scoring on the counter-attack.

Gibbs-White isn’t exactly slow, but he wasn't the ideal winger for Nuno.

Now, with the Forest boss adjusting to a 4-2-3-1 at The City Ground, Gibbs-White is able to thrive as the club's number ten, with almost all of their play going through him.

A different time of his career and different formation has made for a much happier marriage between the two, who will hope to embark on a European journey together next season.