Rangers are reportedly keen on bringing Lewis Gibson to Ibrox.
According to 90Min, Rangers are keen on bringing Lewis Gibson to Ibrox – but face competition from his former club Newcastle United.
Gibson, 19, left Newcastle for a move to Everton in 2017, but his attempts to play first-team football haven’t really worked out for the teenager.
The defender has yet to feature in the Premier League for Everton, and with his contract running out at the end of the season, Rangers are eyeing a deal that would involve bargain compensation.
However, Newcastle are keen to bring him back to Tyneside, and the Daily Mail report that they think they have a chance now Peter Beardsley has left the club, as Gibson had issues with the former Magpies coach.
Rangers may hope that isn’t the case if they really are pursuing the centre back, but Newcastle’s involvement may leave them fearing a repeat of the Ludwig Francillette situation.
According to L’Equipe, as relayed by The Chronicle, Rangers wanted to sign French defender Francillette from the depths of France’s lower leagues, but Newcastle beat them to his signature.
Francillette was a complete unknown with no Wikipedia or Transfermarkt page, but Newcastle managed to get in and lure him to Tyneside, adding him to their development squad.
A move to the Premier League seemingly swayed Francillette, and Rangers will be hoping lightning doesn’t strike twice with Gibson a target for both clubs.
Newcastle moved quickly to ensure that Rangers didn’t beat them to Francillette, and given that Gibson was born in Newcastle, a return may well be appealing to him.
Losing two young defenders to Newcastle would be difficult to stomach for Rangers, but with the January transfer window still more than two months away, they have time to plan their approach and try and ensure that Newcastle don’t pip them once again.
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