Dylan Vente to Hibs: Easter Road side 'closing in' on move for 51-goal Roda JC striker

Hibs are reportedly closing in on the signing of Roda JC striker Dylan Vente.

Dylan Vente in action for Roda JC against Jong FC Utrecht in an Eerste Divisie encounter. Picture: Contributed

The 24-year-old has recently been linked with teams in the English Football League including Coventry, Swansea, and Sunderland but sources in the Netherlands claim Vente could complete a move to Easter Road early next week. A fee would be involved given the attacker is under contract with the Eerste Divisie side until next summer.

Born in Rotterdam, Vente progressed through Feyenoord’s youth system and scored seven goals in 33 appearances for the first team as well as spending time on loan at RKC Waalwijk and Roda. He failed to find the net in 18 appearances for RKC but hit five goals in 17 for Roda and made the move permanent in the summer of 2021. That season he hit 25 goals in 42 matches, prompting reported interest from MLS side New York Red Bulls, but he remained in the Netherlands and scored 21 in 39 last year despite Roda missing out on qualification for the promotion play-offs. For part of last season he was coached by former Hibs midfielder Edwin de Graaf.

Hibs have been on the lookout for attacking reinforcements since Kevin Nisbet’s transfer to Millwall earlier this summer and Vente is a player who fits the bill. Manager Lee Johnson brought in experienced striker Adam Le Fondre earlier this summer but has made no secret of his desire to add more bodies to his forward line given the loss of the Scotland international striker, who scored 12 goals in 20 appearances last season despite missing the first half of the campaign through injury.

Johnson expressed an interest earlier this year in bringing Ukrainian forward Mykola Kuhkharevych back for a second spell after an injury-disrupted stint on loan from Troyes last season. The 22-year-old hit five goals in 15 appearances and teased a possible return to the Capital this week as he discussed his future, amid interest from Polish champions Raków Częstochowa as he appeared to play down the chances of him representing the French side in the country’s second tier.

There were also reports that Spanish side Girona – who, like Troyes, are owned by the City Football Group – had offered Kukharevych to Dnipro-1 on loan as part of a deal to bring Artem Dovbyk to La Liga.