Newcastle United are ready to make a bid to sign Ben Gibson on loan from Burnley with the view to making the deal permanent in the future, according to TeamTalk.
The news outlet claims that Steve Bruce wants to bolster his newly-inherited defence and Burnley fringe player Gibson, 26, is someone who has emerged on his radar in the final weeks of the summer transfer window.
It is understood that promoted clubs Aston Villa, Sheffield United and Norwich are also interested in Gibson, as well as Bruce’s former club Sheffield Wednesday.
TeamTalk adds that while Burnley would prefer to get rid of Gibson on a permanent basis, they could be willing to do business with Newcastle with a loan-to-buy offer on the cards.
Sean Dyche signed the 26-year-old from Middlesbrough in a deal worth £15million last summer but in his debut season at Turf Moor, the centre-back made just five appearances in all competitions and appeared just once in the Premier League.
OPINION
Do Newcastle really need more centre-backs? Rafa Benitez had a wealth of options in that area of the squad last season and unless someone leaves, it will be hard to justify the Magpies spending more money on an area of the squad that isn’t desperate for investment. Jamaal Lascelles, Florian Lejeune, Federico Fernandez, Fabian Schar, Ciaran Clark and even Paul Dummett can play in the centre of the defence so unless two or three of them leave, a move for Gibson could be a waste of resources. Newcastle’s centre-back options aren’t amazing and a few of the players are prone to injury while Clark perhaps isn’t up to the standard of the Premier League. However Gibson doesn’t jump off the page as a massive upgrade and it might be better off if the Magpies avoid the former Middlesbrough defender and instead look at improving their full-back options, their midfield and their attack.
