Sheffield United reached the playoffs of the 2021-22 EFL Championship only to be knocked out by Nottingham Forest on penalties. Billy Sharp may have ended the campaign as Sheffield United’s top goalscorer, but it was another attacker, Morgan Gibbs-White, who joined the Blades on loan from Wolves and arguably, had his career-best season. Here, the performances of the 22-year-old will be assessed.
Morgan Gibbs-White scored 11 goals for Sheffield United in the EFL Championship this season. The 22-year-old did so at a rate of 0.33 goals per 90, which is higher than his xG per 90 of 0.27. He ranks in the top 10% among midfielders in the division for both categories. Morgan also attempted 2.4 shots per game, of which 36.36% hit the target. His 3.88 touches per 90 in the opposition’s penalty box rank him in the top 5% of midfielders. Gibbs-White also attempted 6.34 dribbles per 90 with a decent success rate of 61.54%.
Morgan Gibbs-White registered nine assists for Sheffield United this season in the EFL Championship. Combine this with the 11 goals he scored, he was involved in a goal every 143 minutes for the Blades. His assists per 90 of 0.27 exceeded the xA per 90 of 0.24. Gibbs-White completed 67% of his passes into the final third. He attempted 3.31 crosses per 90, which was in the top 12%. Gibbs-White also ranked in the top 4% for smart passes per 90 and through balls per 90.
Given above is the shot map of Morgan Gibbs-White for Sheffield United in this EFL Championship campaign. All of Gibbs-White’s goals have come from inside the box. None of his 11 goals came from the penalty spot. Gibbs-White had 33 shots on target this season. In total, the Wolves loanee attempted 86 shots, meaning he needed 7.82 shots to score a goal.
Seen in the above visual are the pass sonar, xT timeline and xT map of Morgan Gibbs-White for Sheffield United in the EFL Championship this season. As seen on the map, Gibbs-White was very influential in the attacking third of the pitch through the middle as well as through both the flanks. The Wolves loanee generated an xT value of over 1.0 on a regular basis. Most of his high xT were through forward passes.
Morgan Gibbs-White enjoyed a breakout campaign at Sheffield United this season. His parent club, Wolves, struggled to find the back of the net, having scored just 38 goals, so the return to the Molineux seems like a no-brainer for Gibbs-White.
