Newcastle are selling Lewis Gibson and it makes absolutely no sense

I’m sorry, but I’m starting to lose my patience.

Recently promoted Newcastle United have not made the splash in the transfer market that most had anticipated, after rumors of around £70m being available to spend.

Sure, they’ve brought in a supposedly solid centerback from La Liga. And yeah, it’s cool that they brought Jacob Murphy back home to his boyhood club.

But they haven’t made a statement signing, and they just made yet another questionable move.

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Lewis Gibson, a bright young talent currently under contract at NUFC, will be sold to Everton for a fee of around £6m.

£6 million sounds great for a player that’s never featured for the first team. But that’s just the thing. Everton are paying £6m for a player that’s never played in the Premier League? A player that both Liverpool and Manchester City were interested in?

Doesn’t that tell the Toon bosses that the player has something about him? And maybe that something about him is enough to hold onto and reap the potential rewards in 12, 18, or even 24 months?

Look at a player like John Stones. Everton could have sold him numerous times throughout his time at Goodison Park. However, they stuck to their guns and held until they couldn’t anymore. And what did they get? Just a cool £47.5m.

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I’m not saying that Lewis Gibson is John Stones. Not by a long shot. However, it’s the principle of the situation. Newcastle United hardly have had a single Academy talent turn into a first team contributor. Now, we finally have a player that other clubs are hungry for, and we sell him before he even hits the U23 team sheet? It’s unbelievable.

Now, it does sound like there is a way that Gibson can cancel his Newcastle contract, even though it has a year left on it, and choose to move to the Merseyside club.

However, does that mean Newcastle should just let him walk? Why not offer him a bigger and better contract? After all, his older brother Liam, is playing for the Magpies’ U23 squad, and by all accounts, the NUFC coaching staff rates Lewis higher than his older sibling.

Lewis Gibson is the perfect player to sign to a new deal, give him a substantial wage increase, and keep on Tyneside for as long as possible. It’s not as if he’ll be underwhelmed at the opportunity to work with Rafa Benitez, and he surely won’t be afraid of competing with Paul Dummett for playing time.

This is yet another confusing, frustrating, and maddening move by Newcastle United, as they try desperately to balance being a “big club” and making football decisions that will only end in League Two football.