Former Bristol Rovers loanee Lewis Gibson has completed a permanent transfer to Plymouth Argyle, earning the Championship move Joey Barton long suspected he would make.
Gibson was Rovers’ best defender in League One last term, after arriving on a season-long loan from Everton, emphasised by how vulnerable the Gas looked when the 22-year-old wasn’t in the team.
With his deal at Goodison Park expiring this summer, Rovers were keen to bring him back to the Mem but knew it was a long shot given Gibson was being watched by Championship clubs.
Following the final game of the 2022/23 season in which Gibson played 90 minutes as Rovers lost 3-2 to Bolton Wanderers, Barton said : “We’d love to sign Gibbo and hopefully we can give him a three-year deal and as much as we can pay him but the problem for us is he has played 30 games now. Anyone who has got half a brain cell in the Championship will be, ‘okay going left-footer, really good quality’."
He then joked : "I said to Gibbo, if you’re in a nightclub and we’re chatting you up, we’ve got to do everything we can to make sure we’re going home with you. If Brad Pitt or Tom Cruise walk in, we might have to accept we’re playing second fiddle."
Everton offering him a new contract further complicated the situation for the Gas, adding a likely six-figure compensation fee should any transfer be completed which Plymouth will now pay after announcing the signing of the centre-back.
Gibson has joined Argyle on their pre-season training camp in Spain and becomes their third signing of the summer after Julio Pleguezuelo and Kaine Kesler-Hayden. He has previously worked with technical director Neil Dewsnip at England youth level.
"Lewis is an outstanding young defender who has excellent pedigree having come through the youth set-ups at two Premier League clubs,” said Plymouth manager Steven Schumacher.
He has also had a number of loan spells in the Football League that have developed him into the player he is today. We are signing a ball-playing central defender who has his best years ahead of him and has so much room for development.
"Left-sided defenders are also hard to come by, especially of Lewis' quality, and we beat off a number of clubs trying to clinch his services. We are delighted he has chosen his future is with Argyle and look forward to him running out at Home Park in the Championship."
By signing James Wilson on a free transfer after he failed to agree a new deal at Home Park, Rovers have, in effect, swapped centre-backs with their West Country rivals. The Gas are understood to remain in the market for another player in the position, even in light of George Friend’s impending move to BS7, subject to a medical.
Connor Taylor is a target for Rovers to an extent, but any move for the former loan defender can only be made after Stoke City secure multiple signings in his position, meaning it may not be a possibility until much later in the window.
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