Lewis Gibson has signed a permanent deal with Plymouth Argyle having left Everton this summer when his contract ran out.
The 22-year-old has had loan spells at Fleetwood Town, Reading, Sheffield Wednesday and Bristol Rovers in recent years as he tried to get his senior career off the ground.
Originally signed for £900,000 from Newcastle United’s youth setup as a 17-year-old, Gibson was a highly-rated central-defensive prospect tipped for big things, which was reflected in the structure of the deal that took him to Finch Farm.
The transfer could ultimately have topped £6m had he made his way through to the first team at Everton and established himself there but intermittent injuries hampered his prospects of making the breakthrough.
The club had offered him fresh terms over the past couple of years to see if he might fulfil that rich early promise but he was finally released this summer.