Departing Norwich City defender Ben Gibson is on the brink of signing for Stoke City and delivering another key summer target for Steven Schumacher, TEAMtalk can confirm.
Gibson will become a free agent on July 1 with his three-year contract with Norwich City having run its course and we can reveal that Stoke are right at the head of the queue to win the race for the 31-year-old’s signature.
He joined Norwich City from Burnley in 2021 having played the preceding season on loan at the club. His spell at Norwich City put an end to a pattern of being loaned out by his parent club that started as he came up through the ranks at Middlesbrough.
Gibson established himself as a regular for Norwich City last season, playing 35 matches in the Championship with 33 of those coming as a member of the starting XI.
As a left-footed centre-back, he can also fill in as a left-back and offers a manager tactical flexibility.
Stoke City released former Ireland international defender Ciaran Clark after a disappointing single season at the club that saw him make just three appearances for the Potters.
But TEAMtalk understands that City are close to agreeing terms with Gibson to bolster their defensive ranks.
Stoke City need to reinforce at centre-back
Gibson would come in as a player with the qualities that Stoke City were likely looking for when they brought in Clark who had been released by Newcastle United in June 2023 and signed for the Potters in October on a free. The club would only commit the 34-year-old to a one-year deal and have now cut him loose.
In the case of Gibson, Stoke might be prepared to offer a longer deal although a short-term deal with the option to extend should he prove a good fit seems more likely to suit the club.
Gibson’s familial ties to Middlesbrough meant that Boro were always going to be linked to the free agent but it looks like Stoke City have beaten them to the former England youth international.
Scottish centre-back Michael Rose was the closest to ever-present in the frequently-changed pairing at the heart of the Stoke City defence with Ben Wilmot his most frequent partner at the back. Wilmot missed three months of the season with a knee injury which exposed Stoke City’s lack of depth in the position. Despite that injury, Burnley loanee Luke McNally and his Irish compatriot Clark played just four matches between them.
Gibson would come in as a candidate to be a consistent starter as both Rose and Wilmot are right-footed players. He would also enhance Stoke City’s ball-playing from the back and provide Schumacher with his second signing of the summer after the capture of goalkeeper Viktor Johansson.
