Unai Emery may have cost Aston Villa millions as Morgan Gibbs-White deal eyed

Unai Emery may be regretting his past decisions as Aston Villa join the race to sign Morgan Gibbs-White from Nottingham Forest.

The Villans have one of the best squads out of the typical "top six" in the Premier League, being conducted by one of the best managers in the world.

Morgan Rogers, John McGinn, Youri Tielemans and Emi Buendia all appear to have a telepathic connection on the pitch, all trying to provide service to Ollie Watkins.

Multiple of these players could soon be on their way out this summer, though, explaining the strong interest in Forest's creative No.10.

Aston Villa reignite interest in Morgan Gibbs-White

The Villans are joined by Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester United and Chelsea in the race for his signature, and the interest is hardly new.

Emery's side wanted to sign the now-26-year-old during the summer of 2024, being urged to do so by Alan Hutton, who described the player as "top quality" [Villa News].

However, a deal never came to fruition, and since that summer, the midfield talent has gone on to add another 25 goals and 15 assists to his record at the City Ground.

He might have been just one game away from a European final had he not suffered a freak head injury against Chelsea towards the end of the 2025-26 campaign, and that would have added even more to his price tag.

With Forest wanting upwards of £110million for Elliot Anderson, it is known exactly how much Evangelos Marinakis would need to part ways with Gibbs-White. Either way, it will be millions more than it was two years ago.

How could the Villans raise enough money to sign Forest's playmaker?

Losing Rogers is the last thing that supporters would want this summer, but it would appear that many at Villa Park are already resigned to that outcome.

They would much prefer that the likes of Leon Bailey, Ross Barkley and Andres Garcia, if the club can actually find new homes for them.

Gibbs-White is likely to be available for £65million, at the very least, having only signed a new contract last summer, and that kind of money doesn't come easy.

Given the financial issues that the Villans have suffered from, the only way that Emery might be able to add Gibbs-White to the squad now is to part ways with Rogers, sadly.