APIA Leichhardt young gun inks two-year deal with with Newcastle Jets in A-League call-up

The Newcastle Jets have pounced on a goalscoring machine from the NPL, signing a promising APIA Leichhardt forward to a two-year-deal for the upcoming A-League season.

Ben Gibson was a stand out for APIA Leichhardt in the 2024 NPL Men NSW season. Picture: Brett Nielsen.

Young APIA Leichhardt forward Ben Gibson is moving up to the A-League after signing with the Newcastle Jets for the 2024-25 season.

The 21-year-old joined the APIA first grade side for the 2024 season after splitting time between Sydney FC Academy’s first grade and U20s teams in 2023.

Gibson was hugely impressive this season in the NPLM NSW, coming in third in the league golden boot race with 19 in 26 matches and contributing to APIA’s Australia Cup run.

He is known to play as a lone striker as a number 9 and could be a straight swap for Apostolos Stamatelopoulos, who left the Jets for an opportunity in Scotland with Motherwell FC.

The two-year deal has been rumoured since before the end of the NPL season and Gibson is expected to make his Jets debut in upcoming pre-season friendlies.

Gibson is one of 11 new additions to the Newcastle squad this year alongside former Bulls striker Lachlan Rose and Aleksandar Šušnjar from Perth Glory, as the club looks to bounce back from a couple of frustrating seasons and a 10th place finish in 2023-24.

It also shows a dedication from the club to invest in rising young talent, with 21-year-old Lachlan Bayliss confirmed for the next two seasons alongside 18-year-old defender Oscar Fryer.