'Real deal' - Rooney, Schumacher, Barton and what new Preston North End man's ex-managers have said

Lewis Gibson joined Preston North End from Plymouth Argyle last week for a reported fee in excess of £1.5million, signing a three-year contract at Deepdale.

The 24-year-old has already worked under plenty of well-known managers during his career, including Wayne Rooney, Steven Schumacher and Joey Barton. Gibson was a prominent squad member under Rooney, with a hamstring problem in October the only thing to keep him out of the starting XI.

Rooney - who was relieved of his duties at Home Park last week - regularly started the centre-back. The recently-dismissed Argyle boss spoke highly of Gibson when discussing his return from injury earlier in the campaign.

“He's had a fantastic season - of course, you have decisions to make,” said Rooney via the club’s official media channels. "He has been excellent so far."

The former Manchester United and Everton forward’s No.2, Pete Shuttleworth, was also a big fan of North End’s latest acquisition.

“As well as his defensive skills he's also really competent on the ball and it gives us a really good base to play with,” said Shuttleworth to Plymouth Live. “Lewis had a good season last year and everyone told us that when we came in. I have seen Lewis around the league for a few years but he's a much better player than even people explained to us."

Barton, meanwhile, managed Gibson on two separate occasions - whilst in charge of Fleetwood Town and then Bristol Rovers. After making his debut for the Cod Army back in 2020, Barton commended the left-sided defender for his excellent performance when speaking to the Blackpool Gazette.

“Lewis Gibson looked the real deal and handled it superbly, and he’ll come on so much for that,” said the former Fleetwood boss. “He was outstanding and got better and better as the game went on.”

It was during his second spell under Barton that Gibson began to really show his true potential in the EFL, finishing the 22/23 League campaign as one of Bristol Rovers’ standout performers.

“I am fortunate that I had Gibbo as a 19-year-old when he first came to Fleetwood and he was really mature beyond his years there”, Barton told Bristol Rovers’ media. “It does feel like he is a lot more experienced than he is because of his level of maturity.

“He is a top-class person and obviously, everybody has seen when he is fit what great qualities he has. As I say for us, I think the age of him and his career he is just a talent we’d never see at this level had he not had a few problems with his injuries and staying fit.”

Following his impressive campaign with the Gas, then-Plymouth boss Steven Schumacher brought Gibson to Home Park following Argyle’s promotion to the Championship. Another stellar campaign followed with the new signing featuring 44 times for the Pilgrims and playing a large role in the club maintaining their second-tier status.

Much like Rooney and Barton, Schumacher was complimentary about Gibson’s talent - and versatility as a left-sided defender.

"Lewis is an outstanding young defender who has excellent pedigree having come through the youth set-ups at two Premier League clubs,” said the former-Argyle boss via the club website. “He has also had a number of loan spells in the Football League that have developed him into the player he is today. Left-sided defenders are also hard to come by, especially of Lewis' quality.”