Are Hibs close to solving age-old Easter Road problem with one more signing?

For last season’s cinch Premiership curtain-raiser away to St Johnstone, and indeed his first league match at the helm, Lee Johnson opted for a 4-3-3 formation for his Hibs team at McDiarmid Park.

A back four of Chris Cadden, Rocky Bushiri, Ryan Porteous, and Marijan Čabraja; a midfield trio of Nohan Kenneh, Joe Newell, and Ewan Henderson, and a forward line of Élie Youan flanked by Jair Tavares and Elias Melkersen. An element of this selection was injury-influenced: Kyle Magennis and Kevin Nisbet were still sidelined while Paul Hanlon and Lewis Stevenson were struggling with knocks. Martin Boyle hadn’t yet returned from Saudi Arabia, and the signings of Will Fish, Mykola Kukharevych, and Harry McKirdy would be completed 34 days later.

But let’s back it up to the end of May last year. Hibs had to prepare for an early start in the League Cup group stages, with their opener against Clyde coming just 51 days after Johnson’s arrival. Things needed to move quickly in recruitment. Players who had already been on the radar prior to Johnson’s appointment were brought in along with a raft of new signings. It was certainly needed – even allowing for the managerial upheaval, Hibs had had a disappointing 2021/22 campaign, exacerbated by the loss of Boyle in January to Al-Faisaly, and Nisbet in February to long-term injury.

While the first half of the 2022/23 campaign had an abundance of troughs, there were enough peaks in the second half to suggest that Hibs chiefs were starting to get it right on the pitch as well as off it.

Lee Johnson speaks to his players during a pre-season friendly match between Edinburgh City and Hibs at Meadowbank. Picture: Craig Williamson / SNS Group

In that St Johnstone game, Johnson used a defensive midfielder, a box-to-box midfielder, and a playmaker – or a six, an eight, and a ten, in his own words. Kenneh was deployed in the defensive role, Joe Newell took on the central position and Ewan Henderson, according to Johnson, ‘occupied that half-space really well… and was really potent in that Kevin de Bruyne area’.

It is worth revisiting this because Johnson has opted for a 4-3-3 in both pre-season friendlies so far; the 4-2 victory over Edinburgh City and the 2-0 win against Europa, suggesting that it will be his favoured formation for most games. 4-3-3 can be utilised as a more defensive tactic – two deeper-lying midfielders and one advanced – or an attacking set-up, with one in the holding role and two further forward.

Johnson’s signings in 2023 so far reflect this: Jimmy Jeggo is the archetypal spoiler, something Hibs were missing (which is why Porteous was latterly moved into that role), and Dylan Levitt can operate as a deep-lying playmaker or a box-to-box player. Kenneh is an interesting one because he can cover centre-back and defensive midfield, There is interest in the former Leeds youngster but he may want to stay and fight for his place. That trio will complement Newell and Jake Doyle-Hayes who are preferred as eights, leaving Henderson and – assuming Johnson wants two starters for every role – space for another playmaker, hence the links with Manchester City’s Lewis Fiorini.

Josh Campbell’s versatility makes him a good utility player. He can cover various roles throughout the team. It could also be a big season for Allan Delferrière, who can not only cover centre-back but has successfully played as a six, an eight, and a ten for the development squad. That sort of flexibility would curry favour with Johnson, who likes to maximise his squad by having players who can operate in more than one position. It’s a similar story with the young midfielders currently in Spain – Jacob MacIntyre, Reuben McAllister, and Rudi Molotnikov can all play at least two different roles in the team and having the chance to work closely with the senior midfielders will only help improve them and their chances.

Ewan Henderson, left, and Joe Newell speak with Nohan Kenneh ahead of a Ross County v Hibs game. Kenneh spent the second half of the season on loan in Dingwall. Picture: Paul Devlin/SNS Group

Is the senior midfield corps too bloated, as things stand? Possibly not, if Johnson wants two players capable of starting in every position then he has Campbell, Doyle-Hayes, Henderson, Jeggo, Kenneh, Levitt, and Newell, with one more starter required – as well as the potential to add Delferrière and the youngsters to the pool in case of injury or suspension. All that needs managed is the players’ expectation of gametime and competition. The club is not afraid to make big decisions on the transfer front, and there has been interest in three of Hibs’ midfielders in the last few months alone.

But there should be no need to try to fit square pegs in round holes, as has happened in previous seasons. Crucially, Johnson just about has the personnel to be able to play a multitude of formations and tactical set-ups from 4-3-3, to a five-man midfield, or a diamond as well as bodies on the bench who can make a difference. It was glaringly obvious at times last season that when Hibs were light in midfield, they struggled – hence why CJ Egan-Riley was played as a defensive midfielder for a spell following his arrival on loan from Burnley, as well as Porteous prior to his Watford switch.

Midfield has been a persistent issue for Hibs in recent seasons, bordering on a lottery at times in terms of availability of players but the signs are there that Hibs have learned from their previous mistakes. Signing Levitt from Dundee United has more than an echo of picking out John McGinn after his St Mirren exit – the two scenarios are not identical, but in picking out a talented young midfielder and giving him a platform to progress, the Capital club could benefit in a similar way both on the pitch and, presumably latterly, in the transfer market.

We will likely gain an idea in the remaining friendlies of what Johnson views as his strongest starting midfield. Last season, and the season before that, you could have done it before a ball was kicked. It’s early days, but Hibs sorting out their midfield once and for all could be the difference in some matches – which could be vital come the end of the campaign as they chase third spot.