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Lewis Gibson laughs. “No, I’m going to tell the story."

Gibson’s older brother Liam is also a professional footballer and the pair came through the ranks together at Newcastle.

Following Lewis’ move to Everton in the summer of 2017, fate reunited the siblings earlier this season when Liam joined Accrington Stanley on loan.

“I was living by myself for six months and everything was going smoothly,” the 18-year-old says.

“Then my brother comes down in the January.

“When he moves in I’d never seen him wash as much stuff in my life.

“I thought 'he’s washing a lot here'. I heard the washer going six times a day and I’d think ‘what’s he got left to wash?’

"So I go into the machine, out of curiosity, and I just see two socks! I couldn’t believe it. I had to explain it to him. I’ll never, ever let him forget that.”

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Gibson is funny and charming company and his demeanour is even more impressive when you consider the hurdles he has overcome in such a short career.

Lewis departed boyhood club Newcastle for Goodison just days after his 17th birthday while Liam, three years older, recovered from a serious illness that had left him hospitalised at one stage.

The centre-back also underwent ankle surgery last summer before suffering ligament damage to the opposite ankle in his first game back for Everton under-23s in October.

All of this could potentially scupper the hopes of any young footballer chasing his dreams - but not Gibson.

The teenager has already played in a European Championship youth final, lifted the u-17 World Cup and has skippered David Unsworth’s young Toffees, playing a crucial role in winning the Premier League 2 this season.

Does he ever feel overwhelmed by everything he has achieved?

“I don’t think about it too much really,” he replies.

"Whatever I achieve I don’t think it will ever be good enough.

“I’ll always want more, I’ll always want to go to the next step. I don’t think I’ll ever be satisfied until I’m finished. I’ll always want to do the next step, whatever it is.”

(Image: Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)

Gibson’s first steps, though, were spent at Middlesbrough before he joined his brother at Newcastle as a nine-year-old to ease the travelling load on his parents.

Despite being in royal blue for almost two seasons, the humble defender has not lost sight of the opportunity handed to him by his boyhood club.

“Obviously you still look out for Newcastle,” Gibson says.

“I’ve supported them since I was six and ever since I remember I’ve been going the game as a season ticket holder with my dad and brother.

“I’ll always be thankful for what they did for me. Every single coach I played with from u-9's to u-18's, I got on with.

“I knew the responsibility that they’d given me to play for Newcastle. That’s my hometown club. I loved playing for them.”

By the time Everton came calling, Gibson’s stock was rising fast.

He had recently made his debut for the Magpies' reserves, aged just 15, and appeared in the European Championship final for England.

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As speculation around Lewis’ future continued, however, brother Liam was admitted to hospital for a second time with ulcerative colitis.

The older Gibson would eventually recover and return to football but at one stage he had dropped to a concerning nine stone, undergoing a series of operations that held back his own fledgling career.

“That was a massive thing at the time,” Lewis explains.

“When the transfer first came up I was in hospital four or five days a week before I moved to Everton.

"Before my brother was ill I didn’t realise how close I was to him and my family. It made me realise how you can’t take life for granted as he went through a situation I would never wish on anyone.

“The move took a while but as soon as my brother got out of hospital it was my time to leave. It was my time to come down here. I knew he was fine with mam and dad and he was in good hands.”

Gibson made the journey to Everton alone and moved in with a married couple who he affectionately refers to as ‘digs parents’ for his first season on Merseyside.

He keeps in regular contact with the pair and will often go and visit.

So what made the teenager so keen on the switch to Goodison with other Premier League sides in the hunt for his signature?

(Image: Nick Taylor/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)

“We sat down and discussed what would be the best route for me to play first-team and make my debut competitively,” Gibson explains.

“I didn’t really think at the time that Newcastle was right for me and when I was told about Everton I knew the interest they put into me.

“They pushed for me a lot, compared to other clubs, and I felt like this was the right place for me to develop as a player.

“I’ve been proved right so far and I’ve been happy with my decision. I’ve developed a lot as a player.”

He continues: “I imagined myself at Everton and knew there was a clear pathway.

“You see the players coming through, Dom, Jonjoe, Davo and people like that, and I knew there was a trust in young players.

“I knew that one of the main things Everton fans look for is for young players to come through. They want to see the next youth player go through. I’m just hoping to be one of them sooner rather than later."

Gibson will not be far away from senior action if his current form continues.

After returning from injury for the second time this season, he was named Premier League 2 player of the month for March as the Blues kept five clean sheets in his first six matches.

The record was no coincidence. Gibson is an astute reader of the game and can play out from the back with a left-foot that manager Unsworth has labelled ‘the hammer’.

It hasn't always been plain sailing with the Everton boss, though.

“I remember my debut I played well at Bangor,” Gibson recalls.

“And then the second game I didn’t play badly, but didn’t play great, and Unsy dropped me completely out of the team!

“I remember the day before we were travelling to West Ham [for the next match] and the team-sheet gets put on the board. I remember going back to the board and looking and thinking ‘my name isn’t on here.’

“I had to go away and look again and then I realised I’d been bombed in the first three weeks of being there! I had to grow up straight away. I think it made me, to be honest.

“Then I kind of knew what Unsy was about and I think he gained more trust from me for bouncing back straight away rather than going into a shell and letting myself veer off. I stood up to what I was being put in for.”

Gaining more trust would be an understatement. Gibson went on to wear the captain's armband during the same season following an injury to regular skipper Morgan Feeney.

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Unsworth was also quick to reinstate the defender after his injury problems earlier this campaign with Brendan Galloway continuing at left-back as the u-23s marched towards the title with a watertight defence.

Not that Marco Silva hasn’t noticed, either.

Gibson has been invited to train with the first-team and has been paired alongside Kurt Zouma during sessions.

“The people who he must have partnered!” Lewis exclaims.

"John Terry, [Presnel] Kimpembe from the France squad.

“It’s good to have someone that experienced. Even though he’s still young he’s very experienced to have next to you.

“You pick up little things he does or if you have a problem he’ll speak to you and tell you what he thinks. It’s good to get his knowledge on the game.”

(Image: Emma Simpson/Everton FC via Getty Images)

More achievements ticked off, then. The Premier League 2 title, a player of the month award and first-team training. But Gibson’s friends are setting the bar higher each year.

The England u-17 World Cup winning side featured Jadon Sancho, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Phil Foden and the County Durham native admits they play a big part in his planning for the future.

“I’m jealous, to be honest. I’ve got to be honest,” he says starkly.

“Obviously I love to see people I know doing well and if their games are on I’ll always switch it on.

“I was with them not long ago and I love seeing people doing their thing, doing well and playing week-in-week-out as some of them are.

“Everyone has their own pathway and, of course, I’m jealous of them. That’s what you want to do but I’m just waiting patiently for my chance.

“I’m hoping to push on,” he continues. “I’ve played U23s for coming up to two years.

“In an ideal world it would be at Everton’s first-team but if opportunities are limited it will be on loan.

“Hopefully I can push on with Everton and the first-team because ever since I’ve been here that’s been my dream, just to play for Everton’s first-team."