Primeira Liga and Europa League outfit Sporting Lisbon will reportedly offer West Bromwich Albion’s Gibbs a chance to escape the Championship.
Kieran Gibbs scored his first goal since the 2015/16 season in West Bromwich Albion’s 7-1 thrashing of Queens Park Rangers on Saturday.
If there was any doubt beforehand, this rampant display merely confirmed that the former Arsenal and England man could be one of the Championship’s standout full-backs this season. Having said that, however, keeping Gibbs at the Hawthorns could be easier said than done.
According to Record, Gibbs is the number one left-back target for Primeira Liga powerhouses Sporting Lisbon. And it is reported that the 28-year-old is very interested in broadening his horizons with a move to the Portuguese capital.
Along with Porto and Benfica, Sporting are one of the three biggest clubs in Iberian football and they would offer Gibbs the chance to play in the Europa League next season, which is far more glamourous than trips to Ipswich, Reading and Millwall.
30-year-old Brazilian Jefferson has started both of Sporting’s Primeira Liga games in 2018/19 but Gibbs is perhaps seen as an upgrade on the left-hand side of Jose Peseiro’s back-line.
It seems unlikely, however, that a West Brom side who have refused to let Craig Dawson, Jay Rodriguez, Jake Livermore and co leave this summer would be willing to part company with Gibbs, who joined from Arsenal last summer for £7 million.
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