Mowbray tips bright future

Manager Tony Mowbray is already tipping teenage defender Ben Gibson for a really bright future at Middlesbrough.

The nineteen-year-old signed a new four-year deal with the Teessiders earlier this week after being on loan at League One pacesetters Tranmere Rovers so far this season.

However, an expected absence of around eight weeks with an abductor muscle injury threatens to end that agreement ahead of schedule.

Last season Gibson achieved a spectacular Wembley double during a particularly successful loan spell at York City. That followed a similar stint with their new League Two rivals Plymouth Argyle.

"Ben's playing in a position that is crucial," Mowbray told the Evening Gazette. "I've told him that you can't throw a 19-year-old boy in to try and help us out of this league. At 19 you make mistakes because you are learning the job and yet he's done exceptionally well with Tranmere.

"It's great for his development that he went to York and then made the step up to a higher league and is doing exceptionally well," he added. "It augers well for him that he's playing professional football."

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