Ben Gibson

Benjamin James "Ben" Gibson (born 15 January 1993) is an English professional footballer who plays as a defender for Premier League club Middlesbrough. He has had loan spells with Plymouth Argyle, York City and Tranmere Rovers.

Club career

Gibson was born in Nunthorpe, North Yorkshire and attended Nunthorpe School and Yarm School. He joined Middlesbrough's youth system from Marton at the age of 12. He was a member of the Middlesbrough side that won the Nike Cup in 2008 and signed his first professional contract with the club on 1 July 2010. He made his first-team debut as a substitute on 25 April 2011 against Coventry City, coming on in the 41st minute for the injured Andrew Davies, with Middlesbrough going on to win the game 2–1. He finished the 2010–11 season with one appearance for Middlesbrough, and having captained the reserve team to The Football Combination East Division title.

Gibson signed a three-month loan deal with League Two club Plymouth Argyle on 2 August 2011. After making 13 appearances in this time, Gibson and both clubs involved agreed on 1 November 2011 to extend the loan deal until 29 January 2012. However, the loan was cut short after Middlesbrough recalled him on 30 November 2011. He signed for Conference Premier club York City on loan until the end of 2011–12 on 9 February 2012. After a promising start Gibson was sent off in the 1–0 away victory to Cambridge United. However, after missing the next four games through suspension he won the 2012 FA Trophy Final with York at Wembley Stadium on 12 May, in which the side beat Newport County 2–0. Eight days later he played in the 2–1 victory over Luton Town in the 2012 Conference Premier play-off Final at Wembley on 20 May 2012, seeing the club return to the Football League after an eight-year absence with promotion to League Two. Gibson completed his loan at York with 11 appearances.

On 14 August 2012, Gibson joined League One side Tranmere Rovers on a one-month loan. The month was extended until January 2013 the following month, but in December 2012 was ruled out of action with an abductor problem. He signed a new four-year contract with Middlesbrough on 18 December 2012.

International career

Gibson has competed for the England under-17s, the under-18s, the under-20s and the under-21s. He was part of the under-17 teams that won the 2009 Nordic Cup, where he scored in the final against Scotland, and the 2010 UEFA European Under-17 Championship.

Gibson made his debut for England under-21s in the first leg of the 2015 UEFA European Under-21 Championship qualification play-offs against Croatia on the back of an impressive campaign for Middlesbrough. His performances made him a key member of the under-21 set up and he formed an effective partnership with John Stones. Gibson scored his first goal for the under-21s in England's final friendly before the European Championships against Belarus. He went on to play 90 minutes in all of England's three group stage matches in the tournament although could not stop their disappointing early departure.

Style of play

Gibson plays at centre-back or left-back.

Personal life

His uncle is current Middlesbrough chairman Steve Gibson.

Career statistics

As of match played 31 December 2016

Honours

York City

• Conference Premier play-offs: 2011–12
• FA Trophy: 2011–12

Middlesbrough

• Championship runner-up: 2015–16

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• "B. Gibson". Soccerway. Perform Group. Retrieved 7 May 2016.