Everton close to agreement with Lewis Gibson

Could we not just sign someone who is capable of playing in the Premier League. Radical idea but it might be worth a shot. Preferably before the season starts.

The odds of him making it for us are now minimal. At best. All we can do is hope he makes a decent impression in the Championship and someone gives us a couple of million for him.

Good luck to the lad, he deserves it after so many injuries.

I have some sympathy for Lewis Gibson. Signed as a promising youngster who we seem unable to improve, then send him out on loan to lower league clubs hoping that will… and then, at an age when he should at least be threatening to break through to the first-team squad, offer him a new contract for an undisclosed period while the rest jet out on a pre-season tour.

I could be and might well be totally wrong but something just doesn't seem right. It reminds me, not that it is the same, of Gerry Humphries and Harry Catterick who agreed to release a statement saying they had had a disagreement and owing to this Everton were prepared to let him go.

And then there is what Jarrad Branthwaite makes of it all.

I feel for Gibson, he was a very calm and composed defender. I had him down as one for the future, then injuries struck and Branthwaite jumped ahead of him.

If he can put his injuries behind him, I still have hopes for him.

It does look likely that his chance has come and gone at Everton but, wherever he goes, I just hope his luck changes, there is certainly a player in him.

If he was officially a free agent for 2 weeks and we re-sign him, does that make any future payments to Newcastle obsolete?

The illustrious leaders of our club do realise a competition starts in about 3 weeks right?

I know Lewis Gibson is like a new signing and all, but we finished an arse hair away from relegation and have since swapped 1 x Richarlison and 1 x Branthwaite for a Tarkowski. That maths adds up to diddly fecking squat.

This is hugely depressing stuff.

Like a new signing.

It's the same old, same old where Everton is concerned and in fact many other clubs too.

Very few young hopefuls can get into the Premier League team, at least on a consistent basis, because the demand for immediate impact is so great.

They can look very good at Acadamy level and other levels, eg, loan spells in Scotland and the lower leagues, but stepping up is a big proposition for many of them and they themselves expect too much too quickly.

Everton have had their share of failures throughout the years and I agree that the likes of Branthwaite, Simms and Gibson plus a few others may just become also-rans.

Fair shout, Tom. Although I would say we have had more than our fair share of failures.
Disagree about Branthwaite though, I think a season at PSV could be the making of him.

Oh dear - yawn, yawn, here we go again giving new contracts to our young players. Tick-tock Look at the clock Everton -- we are fast losing all the potential players we need NOW!

It's reported as a 1-year deal.

So essentially we are taking on his wages then hoping to send him elsewhere and possibly have that team cover some of his wages.

At the end of the season, he's a free agent. How does that help Everton in any way shape or form?

Kieran, I was thinking exactly the same, seems like a very odd move. For a club that had no money to waste, we certainly know how to, well... waste it.

What Is The Point????

There's some things that just don't make sense. Like our signing of Eric Dier and never playing him.

This ‘re-signing' seems equally pointless.

Similar to the contract extension with Iversen, the new Thelwell regime needs time to make a final decision on Gibson (and to build up his sales value, as nominal as it might be). As long as the new salary is not outrageous to the level that Championship or League One clubs can't even take on at least 20 to 30% of it during the loan, this is a good move.

Fingers crossed also that the babysitting team Thelwell has put in place to monitor and support the loanees across the country would also allow Gibson (and others like Astley, Joao Virginia and Tyrer) to better concentrate and utilise their times away from Finch Farm.

Hallelujah, brothers – we are saved!

Thank you, Uncle Bill, for all your professional negotiations behind the scenes, such as re-signing players who are deemed not good enough to be given a contract in the first place, then signing them up and sending them out on loan for a year so that new contract can run out again. Genius!!!

Now, Bill, for your skills to be used on the fucking first team... !!! God help us.