Why Rangers should eye a cut-price swoop for Lewis Gibson in January
According to the Daily Record, Rangers are exploring the possibility of bringing teenage centre-back, Lewis Gibson, to Ibrox in January, with the 19-year-old’s current deal at Everton set to expire next summer.
The Toffees are currently stalling over a new deal for Gibson and Rangers are looking to capitalise on the defender’s unresolved contract situation at Goodison Park, with a move in January apparently very much on the cards. (h/t Daily Record)
Rangers might choose to snap up the centre-back for a modest fee in January while negotiating a pre-contract agreement is also very much a possibility, given that Gibson will be in the last six months of his present contract by that time.
The Gers acquired the services of Jordan Jones and Jake Hastie on pre-contract agreements last season and, with Gibson also nearing the last six month’s of his contract at Everton, Gerrard might be tempted to adopt a similar approach in his attempts to lure the highly-rated centre-back north of the border.
Gibson rose through the youth ranks at Newcastle United and made his mark for the Magpies at U-18 and U-23 levels before completing a £6 million move to Everton back in the summer of 2017.
The towering 6ft.2-inch defensive maestro was widely tipped to make a senior breakthrough in Merseyside but he has struggled to break into manager Marco Silva’s plans thus far, although the 19-year-old did feature in the Toffees’ pre-season friendlies.
Despite his failure to make a successful transition to the senior professional level, the left-footed defender is still held in high regard as one of the best up and coming defensive prospects in English football and the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup winner with England has continued to further his development for the club’s U-23 side in the Premier League 2.
Having snapped up the likes of Joe Aribo, George Edmundson and Ryan Kent from south of the border earlier this summer, Rangers are eyeing up yet another audacious raid on the English shores for Lewis Gibson, albeit they would need to fend off interest from several clubs in the race to sign the 19-year-old.
Gibson has been linked with a move back to his boyhood club Newcastle United while several Bundesliga clubs are also circling around like sharks to prise the teenager away from his homeland to Germany with a lucrative deal. (h/t The Sun)
To put things into perspective, Lewis Gibson continues to be a burgeoning young talent at 19 and Rangers should definitely look at him as a good long-term investment.
The starlet has the perfect blend of physicality, as well as the technical attributes, to thrive in Scottish football and one would expect him to get better with time as his career wears on.
The Gers recruited the likes of Filip Helander and Edmundson to bolster their defensive unit in the summer and, whilst Nikola Katic and Connor Goldson are pretty much a key part of Gerrard’s plans moving forward, the acquisition of another top-quality youngster like Gibson would certainly make a lot of sense.
Helander and Edmundson have struggled to live up to the hype, with Gerrard rotating the Swedish international with Katic to partner Goldson in central defence. Keeping that in mind, the door is very much open for another player to come in and make an instant impact on the first-team.
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Verdict
Hardly a finished article just yet, Lewis Gibson is still very young for a centre-back at 19 but he could prove to be an excellent leader at the back for years to come if he goes on to fulfil his potential at Ibrox.
Rangers have put a lot of emphasis on youth development since the arrival of Gerrard at the helm of affairs and a move for Gibson in January would definitely be a step in the right direction.