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Full Name
Darron Thomas Daniel Gibson.
Date & Place Of Birth
Darron was born in Derry, County Londonderry, Northern Ireland on 25th October 1987.
Playing History
Starting out under Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, Gibson progressed through the academy setup before becoming a semi-regular feature in a side that went on to win two Premier League titles and two League Cups, starting in their 2009 triumph at Wembley over Tottenham Hotspur.
In the early days at Old Trafford he was loaned out to both Royal Antwerp and Wolverhampton Wanderers, where he enjoyed two relatively successful spells in a bid to accustom himself with playing regular first team football.
Having found himself out of favour by the end of the 2010-11 season, Gibson was allowed to speak with other clubs. Whilst Manchester United had agreed a fee with Sunderland, the player could not agree on personal terms and instead moved to Everton, where he has remained ever since.
Gibson's career has been ravaged by injuries and this has seen him fall way down the pecking order at Everton. He was given a new two-year contract in the summer but has played just 24 minutes of football this season, in the league cup.
Gibson is a 27-time capped Republic of Ireland international and will be hoping that a move to Wearside will give his chances of earning a place back in his national side a kick-start.
Physically, What Is He Like?
Gibson stands at around 6ft tall and is fairly stocky - he'd add a physical presence to a Sunderland midfield sorely lacking in backbone. Gibson isn't the quickest though, so don't be expecting a sudden injection of pace into our midfield.
What Has Been Said?
Skysports have reported that Gibson will take part in a medical today at Sunderland with a deal agreed to sign the player from Everton.
It doesn't get much clearer than that, then.
How Much Has He Been Playing?
Gibson has started only five league games in the last four seasons for Everton - a rather staggering statistic.
This season the Republic of Ireland international has played just 24 minutes of senior football, when he came on for James McCarthy in Everton's 4-0 win over Yeovil in the 3rd round of the League Cup.
Where Would He Fit Into David Moyes' Squad?
Well, if he stays fit - which seems a big if when you see how much he has played in recent years - Gibson could be a very handy player for Sunderland.
We lack players that have presence and ability on the ball and Gibson is technically very good, but his lack of recent game time is a concern and he'd need to be able to step straight in and play from the start of games on a regular basis.
Injury History
As you can see from the below table, Gibson has suffered a hefty amount of long-term injuries throughout his career - the most recent coming in August of 2016.
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Video Footage
There isn't a great deal of recent video footage available for a man that has started just five Premier League games in four seasons.
Conclusion
Honestly, I have no idea what to make of this. If Gibson is fit then he adds presence, passing ability and goals to a midfield sorely lacking all of those things but his career has been plagued by injuries and the chances of that changing at the age of 29 are very slim.
It's probably a risk worth taking at this stage, considering our lack of ability to spend in the coming days. It might not be a particularly glamorous acquisition but we have to hope that it'll have been worth it.