Stoke City sign defender Ben Gibson on three-year deal

Stoke City have announced the signing of former Middlesbrough and Norwich City defender Ben Gibson on a three-year contract.

The 31-year-old brings significant Championship experience to the bet365 Stadium, having made 240 of his 392 career appearances in the second tier.

Gibson arrives from Norwich City, where he played 124 games over four seasons. He was a key player in the Canaries' 2020/21 Championship title-winning campaign and last season's play-off run.

Before his time at Norwich, Gibson featured 204 times for Middlesbrough, helping them to the Championship play-off final in 2014/15 and securing automatic promotion to the Premier League the following season.

Sporting Director Jonathan Walters highlighted Gibson's leadership qualities and experience. "Successful teams need leaders, strong characters and experience and Ben gives us all three qualities in abundance. Beyond his contributions on the pitch, he sets high standards of himself and others, both on the training ground and off the pitch."

Walters added, "Having won promotion from the second tier on several occasions during his career, Ben is well versed in knowing what it takes to be successful at this level. He was near ever-present in a play-off side last season and brings the hunger, mentality and leadership to help drive our club in the right direction."

Gibson expressed his enthusiasm for joining Stoke City. "Stoke City is a fantastic club, with lots of history, huge stature and I am looking forward to getting to work. I have played here, the atmosphere is fantastic and the fanbase speaks for itself. I want to be part of a team that brings the good times back to Stoke."

He continued, "There are some brilliant players here and it is now about creating that unity and togetherness to find the camaraderie which will set us on our way to achieving something great. We have to build a culture and environment where everyone is demanding of each other, where we don’t accept second best from anyone in this football club from top to bottom."

Gibson also emphasised the importance of connecting with the fans. "Our fans work hard to earn their money every week to come and support us so they need to see a team that reflects them, their personalities and attitude to life. It is important we recreate that and they have that connection with the team."