Earlier today, Louisville City announced the 18th member of its 2021 roster, midfielder Tyler Gibson! Gibson’s contract with his most recent club, Indy XI, wasn’t renewed this past offseason, and Louisville City picked him up as a free transfer. Gibson is 29 years old and spent most of his playing career in the now-defunct second edition of the NASL before joining FC Cincinnati for their final USL season in 2018. He spent two fairly productive seasons in Indianapolis after that.

Tyler Gibson is a good player, and he definitely fits an area of need for Louisville City: defensive and central midfield. Whether we can take this as a sign that Speedy Williams will return for 2021 is unclear, but either way, this is a positive addition. He was an everyday starter for Indy his two season there, and frankly it’s a mystery why they didn’t try to keep him.

Gibson is an experienced player, and the first Louisville City signing for 2021 that comes from outside the club. He’s not a young guy, per se, but is definitely a known and proven quantity and quality. That’s good! It does make me wonder if this is indicative of City’s transfer policy going forward, in terms of what kinds of players John Hackworth wants in his side.

Culture is really important to Hack and Louisville City in general. They want guys who are willing to sacrifice for the team, be professional, and work together as a collective for a common goal. An argument in favor of signing more experienced players could be that they know how to be professionals and are flexible enough to work into an already-established system. Sometimes younger, raw talent is less pliable.

Then again, we’ve seen Jonathan Gomez really take advantage of the opportunities the club gave him in 2020 and there’s no doubt he’s taking advantage of that to hopefully springboard himself to Europe or elsewhere next summer. So maybe I’m reading too much into one signing. But it’s the offseason and what else am I gonna do?

No matter what, I think Gibson is going to do great things for Louisville City and I’m glad to have him. He’s a very good passer, adept at keeping the ball, and hits a good diagonal ball, too. He’s also going to give Pat McMahon a run for his money on “best Louisville City hair,” though he’s still got a ways to go on that subject. Welcome to Louisville, Tyler!