You sometimes forget Nottingham Forest star was once ripping it up for Sheffield United: View | OneFootball

Morgan Gibbs-White spent the 2021/22 season on loan at Sheffield Wednesday where he performed excellently

He may be thriving as a Premier League captain and full England international now, but it wasn't too long ago that Morgan Gibbs-White spent time on loan in the Championship, a platform which ultimately led to him earning his move to Nottingham Forest.

Gibbs-White had spent time on loan at Swansea City during the 2020/21 season, where he had impressed, but injuries and being recalled by parent club Wolves meant he actually had minimal game time, and they looked to loan him out again for the duration of the 2021/22 season.

Sheffield United were the lucky recipients of Gibbs-Whites' arrival back in August 2021, and the attacking midfielder thrived at Bramall Lane, with it being clear that he was a Premier League player in the making.

Over the past couple of seasons, the 24-year-old has become a household name in the Premier League thanks to his performances with Forest, and it's easy to forget just how impressive he was during his spell 30-odd miles up the road with the Blades.

Morgan Gibbs-White was an excellent signing for Sheffield United

Despite his very obvious talent, Gibbs-Whites had never really had much of a first team look-in at Wolves, and was allowed to join Sheffield United on loan to get some regular minutes under his belt.

The attacking midfielder never looked back after completing his switch to Bramall Lane, and despite the Blades making a disastrous start under Slaviša Jokanović, Gibbs-Whites helped the club regain some form.

A goal and an assist on his debut in a 6-2 win over Peterborough United was a real sign of things to come, and he backed that up with another goal on his second appearance, coming in a 2-2 draw with Preston.

Jokanović, the man who brought him to the club, left in November and was replaced by Paul Heckingbottom, but Gibbs-White continued to thrive.

The Blades managed to recover from their dreadful start to the season and earn a fifth place finish to reach the play-offs, in part thanks to Gibbs-White's impressive form.

The Wolves loanee scored 11 goals and registered nine assists in 35 league games, before registering a goal and an assist in the play-off semi-final against his future club, Nottingham Forest.

The second-leg at the City Ground went to penalties, but Gibbs-White missed his and his side were knocked out, missing out on an immediate return to the top-flight.

It was a heartbreaking end to what had been a very impressive loan spell, and Gibbs-White picked up the Player of the Season and Young Player of the Season awards, ultimately giving him the platform for a Premier League move.

In a cruel twist of fate for Sheffield United fans, Gibbs-White would join Nottingham Forest on a permanent basis in the summer of 2022, the side who had beaten them in the play-off semi-final and ultimately won promotion.

Eyebrows were certainly raised when it emerged that Forest had forked out an initial £25millon fee, with a further £17.5million taking the fee to a possible total of £42.5million, but it's proved an excellent piece of business.

Forest have managed to just stay up in both of their Premier League seasons so far, and it's fair to say that without Gibbs-White they would have been relegated.

He scored five goals and registered eight assists in his first season in the Premier League, before adding a further five goals and ten assists last season.

Gibbs-White was rewarded with the captain's armband prior to the 2024/25 season starting, and he recently received his first England senior call-up, winning his first cap against the Republic of Ireland in the Nations League.

He's started the season in fine form for Forest yet again, but Sheffield United fans could think back about what could have been had they won the play-off semi-final and eventually won promotion themselves.