Football Apr 28, 2026

Morgan Gibbs-White is the Premier League top scorer in 2026: How has he found his best Nottingham Forest form?

👤
By Admin
Sports Journalist
Morgan Gibbs-White is the Premier League top scorer in 2026: How has he found his best Nottingham Forest form?

Welcome to , a Your Site column in which uses a blend of data and opinion to reflect on some of the key stories from the latest Premier League matches. This week:

Nobody has scored more Premier League goals in 2026 than Morgan Gibbs-White. The Nottingham Forest player is into double figures since the turn of the year. He has scored seven times since the start of March - three more than anyone else in the competition.

His stunning upsurge in form was marked by a hat-trick against Burnley and another in last time out. His goals have propelled Forest away from the relegation zone and could yet take Gibbs-White to the World Cup this summer.

It is quite the transformation because his form had dipped in the early part of this season. Those familiar flicks were not coming off. He failed to ignite under Ange Postecoglou and never looked completely happy when playing in a Sean Dyche team.

Vitor Pereira has benefited from playing him a little further forwards and encouraging those trademark driving runs. According to Opta, he is making more of them than under any Forest manager since joining the club in 2022. He is getting lots of chances now too.

Indeed, this goal total is no fluke. His expected-goals tally under Pereira is also at an all-time high, more than double what it was under Steve Cooper in the early period of his Forest career when he was already a popular figure. So what exactly has changed?

Although the goals have been flowing for much of the year, it was a tactical tweak at half-time against Burnley that really helped. Igor Jesus came on for Dilane Bakwa with Forest trailing at the City Ground, their Premier League future seemingly in the balance.

Gibbs-White was deployed in a new role, drifting in from the left with Omari Hutchinson asked to hold the width on the opposite flank, and it has helped him to find more space. It has been a triumph in an attacking sense, even if it demands a lot from the player.

"When I told him that, when we are attacking, I wanted him to play in the pocket but when we defend he must defend on the side, it was not a problem for him," explained Pereira when speaking after the Burnley game. "He understands the game. He has the spirit."

Pereira added: "When the team is struggling in the game, a lot of players could prefer to hide themselves, they do not want the ball. But Morgan wants the ball, he wants the responsibility. He wants to score goals, he wants to assist." At Sunderland, he did both.

Do not underestimate the importance of Ibrahim Sangare in unlocking Gibbs-White's form too. Since returning from the Africa Cup of Nations in January, the midfielder has been a defensive colossus and Forest appear to be a different team with him in it.

They have won just one of the 10 Premier League games this season in which Sangare has not been in the starting line-up but have 34 points from 24 games with him in it. Finding the right structure has been crucial for Forest. The gifted Gibbs-White has done the rest.

Antonin Kinsky was not exactly busy in but he was crucial. His stoppage-time save from a Joao Gomes free-kick bound for the top corner secured Spurs' first Premier League win of 2026 and means they still have a hope of staying up.

There will be plenty rooting for the 23-year-old Czech after his humiliating experience in the Champions League away to Atletico Madrid when he was guilty of two errors and suffered the ignominy of being substituted by then boss Igor Tudor before half-time.

"He deserves this day, because he played very well," said Robert De Zerbi on Saturday. "Especially today, he was crucial for the result. He deserves everything, because he is a good guy, a good 'keeper, and especially after Madrid, he deserves one day like today."

What his miserable evening in Madrid masked is that Kinsky is at Tottenham because he has talent and potential. His distribution with the ball at his feet is actually regarded as a strength and his showing at Molineux reflected that when passing out from the back.

He also did brilliantly when coming off his line to beat Adam Armstrong to the ball after Kevin Danso had dallied. It showed decisiveness. Spurs will need him if they are to escape. If Kinsky can continue to play a part in that then it will be some redemption tale.

Kinsky was not the only Czechia international to have a successful Premier League weekend. Tomas Soucek opened the scoring in and produced a spectacular goal-line clearance with that same head to secure the three points.

Soucek has now scored 41 Premier League goals for West Ham. Only 11 men playing in the competition have scored more for their current club. It is a testament to the 31-year-old midfielder's longevity but also his rare gift for engineering space inside the penalty box.

Nuno Espirito Santo referred to this after a goal against Burnley earlier this season. "He recognises the space." After scoring against Manchester United, he said: "Tomas has this quality where he is always able to find space and score." He just keeps doing it.

There was a period when Nuno felt that West Ham needed more energy in midfield and opted for the young pairing of Freddie Potts and Soungoutou Magassa. That plan was abandoned when West Ham were three goals down at half-time to Wolves in January.

Soucek was introduced at the interval in that game and has since started each of the last 14 Premier League matches, proving instrumental in turning around their fortunes alongside Mateus Fernandes. Since mid-January, West Ham rank sixth in the table.

Typical of the man, Soucek spent his Sunday morning cheering on his colleagues on the West Ham staff who were doing the London Marathon. Jarrod Bowen is the beloved captain, but there is another talisman at the club who could be a big factor in their survival.

Tags:

football news

Share this article

Related Posts

Man City and Man Utd slip up in Women's Super League - and the consequences could be big

Man City and Man Utd slip up in Women's Super League - and the consequences could be big

Your Site columnist analyses the big talking points from the latest Women's Super League matches, bringing you closer to the key stories at the heart...

Claudio Braga: Hearts forward confident of Scottish Premiership title chances: 'We started to believe a long time ago!'

Claudio Braga: Hearts forward confident of Scottish Premiership title chances: 'We started to believe a long time ago!'

"We just started to believe a long time ago, but just couldn't say."Claudio Braga has told Your Site News that Hearts players have been high in Premie...

Man Utd 2-1 Brentford: Bruno Fernandes closes in on PL assist record as Red Devils edge closer to Champions League return

Man Utd 2-1 Brentford: Bruno Fernandes closes in on PL assist record as Red Devils edge closer to Champions League return

Manchester United are within touching distance of returning to the Champions League after beating Brentford 2-1 at Old Trafford.Michael Carrick benefi...

Leicester 1-1 Millwall: Lions snatch late equaliser but automatic promotion hopes hit after draw at relegated side

Leicester 1-1 Millwall: Lions snatch late equaliser but automatic promotion hopes hit after draw at relegated side

Millwall moved back into the Championship's automatic promotion places but could only snatch a late 1-1 draw at already-relegated Leicester.Substitute...

Arsenal 1-0 Newcastle United: Gunners go three points clear of Man City with nervy win as Kai Havertz and Eberechi Eze suffer injury scares

Arsenal 1-0 Newcastle United: Gunners go three points clear of Man City with nervy win as Kai Havertz and Eberechi Eze suffer injury scares

Arsenal moved three points above Manchester City at the top of the Premier League with a nervy 1-0 win over Newcastle.Eberechi Eze scored the decisive...

Alex Manninger: Former Arsenal goalkeeper who helped Gunners to Premier League and FA Cup double in 1997/98 dies aged 48

Alex Manninger: Former Arsenal goalkeeper who helped Gunners to Premier League and FA Cup double in 1997/98 dies aged 48

Former Arsenal goalkeeper Alex Manninger has been killed in a road accident, his first club Red Bull Salzburg have announced.Manninger, 48, helped Ars...