Everton once had high hopes for the future of Lewis Gibson. The deal that brought the young defender to the club could have eventually set Everton back a reported (Liverpool ECHO) £6 million back in 2017.
The England youth international was expected to make immediate strides into first-team contention but that has not been the case.
But whilst Carlo Ancelotti is said to rate Gibson, there was simply no place for him at the club this season.
With that in mind, he headed to Reading on loan for the season and is now looking set for a promotion challenging campaign in Berkshire.
Gibson has struggled to find regular playing time since his move to Madejski. However, with injuries impacting the first-team he was recently given his chance as a left-back.
That has, unfortunately, been cut short by a thigh injury which will keep Gibson out until the new year at which point he will be doing his best to help the Royals fight for an unlikely promotion.
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Veljko Paunovic has Reading playing some excellent football and they were the early pace-setters in the Championship. Other clubs have since caught up but Reading remain sixth and firmly in the play-off hunt.
Gibson, when he returns from injury, will be hoping to find his way back into starting contention with his loan club.
If he can, then we might finally start seeing a return on their investment for a player who is contracted to the club until 2022.