Hibs handed cup derby boost with Ryan Porteous unlikely to leave before crunch game

Hibs have been handed a boost ahead of their Scottish Cup fourth-round clash with city rivals Hearts, with manager Lee Johnson not expecting Ryan Porteous to leave Easter Road before the derby showdown.

According to Hibs chief executive Ben Kensell, the 23-year-old is likely to depart the club this month, with a host of clubs monitoring his situation. French side Toulouse, Belgians KV Oostende, and Italian pair Bologna and Udinese are all keeping tabs while a string of English Championship clubs have also been credited with an interest.

Speaking ahead of Saturday’s cinch Premiership match at home to Dundee United, Johnson spoke about the defender’s importance to his team as they look to build on last weekend’s 3-2 victory over Motherwell.

"I honestly don't think he will go before the Hearts game, based on the information I've got at this moment in time, but obviously I could be wrong. I'm just making sure Ryan is sweet, training well, and he is,” Johnson said.

Lee Johnson doesn't believe Ryan Porteous will leave Hibs before their Scottish Cup showdown with Hearts

"Putting him in midfield showed a different dynamic to his game but it's also given the team a different dynamic. Having four centre-halves enables me to allow midfielders in certain games to be a bit more creative while still giving us size, physicality, and will to win.”

Should Porteous move on this month he will earn Hibs a fee, which will likely go straight back into improving the team – but not necessarily by bringing in another central defender, according to Johnson.

"I'm not the person at this football club who will decide any transfer fee,” he continued. “Obviously I'll advise, and I'd rather have him in the team than not, but there are a number of factors – the player, the agent, the club – and that will depend on negotiations and Ryan's prerogative to sign a pre-contract and stay here if the club doesn't accept an offer and move in the summer, or because the deal is right for the club and we can use the finances and resources better given every bit of information we've got. It might be a centre-forward who comes in with that money, it might be a right-back. It doesn't necessarily mean man-for-man; it’s a bit of a Rubik’s Cube in terms of moving people about but we have decent flexibility in our squad.”