Explained: Why Man City snubbed Morgan Gibbs-White move and signed Rayan Cherki instead as Nottingham Forest star's stance on future Etihad move is revealed

The Nottingham Forest star was tipped to be one of the main candidates along with Florian Wirtz to replace Kevin De Bruyne at City following the brilliant Belgian's departure. But after Liverpool agreed a deal to sign Wirtz, Pep Guardiola's side instead turned to Rayan Cherki, snapping up the French maverick from Lyon for £34 million ($45m) as he was a far cheaper option than the England international.

According to the Daily Mail, Forest were demanding at least £70m to part with Gibbs-White. Unlike cash-strapped Lyon, Forest were under no financial pressure to sell their star man after a stellar Premier League season in which they finished seventh and qualified for the Europa Conference League. And that is believed to have put off City, who were able to sign Cherki for around half the price of the England international. Cherki is four years younger than Gibbs-White but has a similar amount of experience, with close to 200 senior appearances compared to the latter's 250 appearances. The saving they made from recruiting the Frenchman gave them the opportunity to cover the bulk of the initial £46m transfer fee to bring in Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan.

The saving City made from signing Cherki instead of Reijnders gave them the opportunity to cover the bulk of the initial £46m transfer fee to bring in Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan. Effectively, City got two top-class internationals for only £10m more than they would have paid for Gibbs-White.

It is felt that Gibbs-White would still be interested in joining City despite the initial snub as he is very close to Phil Foden. Guardiola's side could still go out and sign him after the Club World Cup ahead of the new campaign. Gibbs-White has two years left on his contract with Forest, where he earns a reported £60,000 per week.