Chelsea’s £300m PSR advantage could threaten Nottingham Forest’s hopes of keeping Morgan Gibbs-White

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After Manchester City moved away from signing Morgan Gibbs-White, Nottingham Forest could now have to contend with the possibility of Chelsea showing interest in the talisman.

Forest look more likely to keep Gibbs-White after Manchester City pivoted to signing Tijjani Reijnders from AC Milan instead, allowing Nuno Espírito Santo the chance to start planning for next season with his star attacking midfielder in mind.

However, the saga may not yet be over as Chelsea admire Gibbs-White internally, with the Blues also able to offer the Champions League football that could tempt the English midfielder into a move.

The question would then become whether Chelsea could actually afford Gibbs-White, with the latest PSR projections suggesting that the London club could make a serious approach to Forest.

Chelsea could make Morgan Gibbs-White move amid healthy PSR status

Those at the City Ground must be confused as to how high-spending Chelsea could even consider a move for their star man, given that Forest want £100m for Gibbs-White.

According to PSR projections made by The Athletic, though, Chelsea have more than enough wiggle room to launch a bid for the 25-year-old.

The report said: “Through the intra-group sales of hotels, car parks and even their own women’s team, Chelsea have turned a rather tricky PSR position into one whereby they enjoy mammoth headroom — at least domestically.

“Based on our projections, Chelsea could lose £300m and comply with Premier League PSR. They’ll lose a lot, but nowhere close to that much.”

Chelsea beat Forest to Liam Delap already this summer, and their spending hasn’t shown any signs of slowing under Todd Boehly, so eating into that £300m of allowed loss to sign Gibbs-White feels like a worryingly real possibility.

Nottingham Forest also have significant PSR opportunities

Evangelos Marinakis will be wary of Chelsea’s spending potential, but it’s not as if Forest are in a position where a considerable sale is required.

After previous seasons of PSR struggles, Forest are set to spend serious money this summer while their finances are in a position to allow.

The Athletic article projected that Forest could lose £85m this season and still comply with PSR rulings, and given Marinakis’ ambition to improve the Forest squad, that limit will be taken advantage of.

Nottingham Forest News was also able to reveal that Forest made upwards of £160m in prize money this season, which will only increase with the UEFA Conference League next season.

Therefore, if Chelsea are serious about making a move for Gibbs-White, Forest are in a strong enough position where the London club will have to seriously stretch to their PSR limits to sign him.