Inside Nottingham Forest’s Summer: Glasner, Gibbs-White and Transfers

Nottingham Forest’s doubts about Vitor Pereira first emerged after Aston Villa ended their Europa League hopes.

As the club’s fourth permanent manager of the season, the Portuguese had delivered a highly respectable campaign. He restored calm to a divided squad, secured Premier League survival and took Forest to within touching distance of a European final.

The 4-0 semi-final defeat at Villa Park on May 7 did not immediately determine Pereira’s future, but it prompted Forest’s hierarchy to reconsider their next move. That period of reflection eventually brought Oliver Glasner into the picture, helped by the long-standing relationship between the new manager and Forest transfer chief George Syrianos.

As was the case 12 months earlier, three figures and forces have shaped Forest’s summer: owner Evangelos Marinakis, talisman Morgan Gibbs-White and Crystal Palace.

Relations between Palace and Forest have been strained for a year and have deteriorated further. Glasner, who won three trophies at Palace, can expect a hostile reception when he returns to Selhurst Park on October 10. Meanwhile, Marinakis is suing Palace over a banner displayed at the stadium 12 months ago that featured the owner and, inevitably, Gibbs-White.

At Nottingham Forest, drama is rarely in short supply—and this summer has been no exception.

Keeping the main man happy

Gibbs-White came close to joining Tottenham last summer after the club believed it had triggered a £60million release clause in his contract. Marinakis ultimately convinced him to remain at Forest and sign a new agreement, making him the highest-paid player in the club’s history.

That decision proved inspired. Gibbs-White produced the best season of his career and played a major role in keeping Forest in the Premier League. However, the 26-year-old is a demanding personality who requires careful handling, with some staff members occasionally feeling as though they must tread lightly around him.

Last summer, Gibbs-White watched Anthony Elanga leave Forest for Newcastle in a £55million deal while he stayed. This time, it was Elliot Anderson who departed, joining Manchester City for £116million.

Anderson, like Gibbs-White for much of his career, was represented by the influential CAA Stellar agency. Since Anderson’s transfer, Gibbs-White has changed representation and is now among the leading clients of German-based ROOF. The precise reasons for the switch are not known, but Gibbs-White and his representatives may have questioned why Anderson secured a major move while he remained at Forest.

Their positions are different, but the statistics are striking: Gibbs-White recorded 25 goal involvements last season, compared with Anderson’s nine.

Daily Mail Sport understands Chelsea were willing to pursue Gibbs-White earlier this summer. However, the England international would prefer a move that guarantees Champions League football. He grew up supporting Manchester United and has also attracted significant interest from Manchester City, both last year and in January.

ROOF’s strong links with Bayern Munich mean that possibility cannot be dismissed, although a move to Germany is more likely to be considered in 12 months’ time.

For now, Gibbs-White remains at Forest—but his mindset will be crucial. Steve Cooper, Nuno Espirito Santo and Pereira generally found ways to get the best from him, whereas his relationship with Sean Dyche never clicked. Glasner will have made his own inquiries about the midfielder and has already held several conversations with him. If Gibbs-White stays, their connection could define Forest’s season.

The encouraging sign for Forest is that Gibbs-White was reportedly hugely impressed by Glasner during last month’s training camp in Portugal and has rediscovered his enthusiasm for his career at the club. Even so, supporters will feel far more comfortable if they wake up on September 3 knowing their No 10 is still at the City Ground.

There may be no direct replacement for Anderson in Glasner’s preferred 3-4-2-1 system, and the sale of the England midfielder was a triumph for Marinakis. The Forest owner took personal charge of the £116million deal to the extent that even senior club staff were sometimes in the dark about how it was progressing. 

Before the window closes, expect at least one forward to arrive as well as another central midfielder and a right wing-back. However, Forest are determined not to overpay, hence the drawn-out negotiations for defender Ousmane Diomande.

Diomande deal key

When Glasner was at Palace, he made Diomande his No 1 defensive target and was thought to have been extremely frustrated when the deal did not materialise.

Arriving at the City Ground, the Austrian was just as adamant he wanted the Ivory Coast international, yet for a time, it seemed he might be denied again. Tired of the endless back-and-forth negotiations over the final details, Sporting briefly considered offering Diomande to rival clubs. If he had moved elsewhere, Glasner would have been furious.

In the end, Forest decided a few million here or there was not worth arguing about if it meant keeping their new boss happy and paid £34million for the 22-year-old’s services. Glasner showed his combustible nature in his public fall-outs with the Palace hierarchy last season and had Forest missed out on Diomande, the relationship may have started on the wrong foot.

Forest want Glasner to be their answer to Unai Emery. The Spaniard took over Villa when they were on the edge of the relegation zone and in less than four years he has made them a European force. Marinakis believes Glasner to be in the same bracket and rather than having dispensable managers, as he has during Forest’s four-year stay in the top flight, he intends to put him at the heart of the project.

Where do the club stand?

Marinakis’ grand project is the redevelopment of the City Ground, where the capacity is about 30,000. The owner would like to take it beyond 50,000 and submitted a planning application last January.

In the shorter term, Forest want to add 5,000 seats by building a larger Peter Taylor Stand. They have started buying properties at the corner of the Peter Taylor and John Robertson Stands in preparation for this.

Though not quite on the same scale, Forest have been working through the summer to update several of the club’s hospitality suites at the City Ground.

The most significant changes have been happening at the club’s training ground on the outskirts of the city. Forest have brought in Carina Hanson-Evans as recovery specialist – the first hire of this nature in the club’s history – who will work with the players on breathing techniques, meditation and pilates.

The players’ recreational area at the training ground has almost doubled in size to try to encourage the squad to spend more time together after training sessions. This worked superbly in the 2024-25 season, when Forest missed out by a whisker on Champions League qualification under Nuno Espirito Santo, and Glasner is keen to restore that spirit. In that context, the pre-season camp in Portugal is said to have been very encouraging.

Forest have also upgraded the facilities for their Under-21 and B teams to bring them in line with first-team standards and have started building a swimming pool at their base to help player recovery.

That will not be ready for some time. Under Marinakis and Glasner, Forest are confident they can make a splash immediately.