Nottingham Forest could look to sign Jack Grealish or James McAtee in a swap deal that will see Morgan Gibbs-White join Manchester City.

Manchester City have made Morgan Gibbs-White their priority target for the summer as they look to replace Kevin De Bruyne. Nottingham Forest will certainly find it very difficult to keep hold of their star and according to Pete O’Rourke via Football Insider, the Tricky Trees could look to sign either Jack Grealish or James McAtee from City as part of a swap deal.

City looking to go all out for Gibbs-White

City decided against renewing De Bruyne’s deal and he is all set to leave the club in a few weeks time. Pep Guardiola is keen on bringing in a top-quality replacement. While Bayer Leverkusen’s Florian Wirtz was their priority target, City received a blow as the German international was not keen on joining them. With him close to joining Liverpool, they have been forced to look at other targets.

The Manchester-based giants have now made Gibbs-White their priority target. They see him as an ideal fit for Guardiola’s system and he could help them cope with De Bruyne’s absence. The English international has enough experience of playing in the Premier League and he could straightaway slot into the Spanish manager’s team.

Nottingham Forest signed him from Wolves back in 2022 in a deal worth £42.5 million. While they are aware they might struggle to keep him after failing to secure Champions League football, the Tricky Trees still want at least double their initial investment, with his contract running until 2027.

O’Rourke has suggested that Nottingham Forest will look to bring in the best possible player to help cope with the potential departure of the 25-year-old. They could explore a swap deal involving one of Manchester City’s stars, with James McAtee or Jack Grealish possible options to come in as part of a move that would see Gibbs-White head the other way.

While speaking to Football Inside about a potential swap deal, he said: “Swap deals are notoriously hard in the Premier League, but we know Morgan Gibbs-White is a major target for Manchester City this summer”,

“He’s had a very good season for Forest — seven goals and ten assists… he’s under contract at the City Ground until 2027.

“If they get an offer which is too good to turn down, Forest might have to let him move to City… to work under Pep Guardiola… you’d probably be thinking that Forest will be looking to double their investment.

“Jack Grealish potentially is a swap deal – [that] might cause unrest if Forest were to break their budget to try and get Grealish in.

“James McAtee; there’s definitely interest in him from Forest… he was surprisingly left out of City’s squad for the final game of the season, which tells you that he doesn’t figure in Pep’s plans.

“He’ll probably have to seek a move away, but there’ll be lots of competition for McAtee’s signature.”

Grealish or McAtee to join Nottingham?

While swap deals involving two Premier League clubs are a very rare sight, this could be one of the exceptions as Manchester City are desperate to sign Gibbs-White this summer. Having contributed towards 17 goals last season, he is quite high on the wishlist of multiple clubs and Guardiola’s team wants to ensure they win the race.

Nottingham would ideally want a massive fee to part ways with the 25-year-old but they could also look for a swap deal involving Jack Grealish or James McAtee, who were both left out of City’s squad for the final matchday of the season.

Grealish’s departure looks almost certain but his wages could become a problem for Nottingham. Not only can McAtee prove to be a like-for-like replacement but his wages won’t disrupt the Tricky Trees’ wage bill. More importantly, they are certainly interested in his signature.

With both Grealish and McAtee out of favour at City, it is certainly one to keep an eye on. While the 29-year-old could have offers from other top clubs, the 22-year-old could prefer joining Nottingham as it could be an ideal destination for him to continue his development as a player.