Elias Melkersen eyeing fresh start at Hibs as he hails Le Fondre influence and importance of patience

Elias Melkersen doesn’t turn 21 until December, but exudes a quiet confidence of which players ten years his senior might be envious.

The Hibs forward, and indeed any young striker, needs that borderline cockiness; a quiet self-assuredness that he hopes will stand him in good stead for the upcoming season. With Kevin Nisbet away and a changing of the guard in the Easter Road side’s attacking corps, he has a chance to stake a claim for regular gametime and pre-season is the ideal time to show Lee Johnson that he can carry the can following the Scotland internationalist’s departure.

Melkersen was involved a lot during his 45 minutes on the pitch on Saturday in the 4-2 victory over Edinburgh City at Meadowbank and might have scored more than his one goal had he had a bit more luck. His first-half appearance against the Citizens may not have shown us too much of what to expect from him this season but there were obvious improvements in certain aspects of his game. Edinburgh may be two leagues beneath Hibs, and pre-season matches are never a perfect barometer of what to expect from either a team or individuals, but Melkersen certainly looked a lot less like a wee laddie struggling against battle-hardened pros, as he occasionally did in his initial appearances in green and white. But the forward is mostly happy to be back playing and contributing, and was delighted to start off pre-season on a high.

“It's very good to be back and that is what I am aiming for, to score goals, so it is very good to be back and get a goal in this game but you do need to take it one step at a time. A goal this early in pre-season is good for my confidence so this is a great start for me,” he said afterwards.

Elias Melkersen in action for Hibs against Edinburgh City. Picture: Craig Williamson/SNS Group

His loan spell with Sparta Rotterdam in the second half of last term didn’t quite go to plan, the player restricted to just two brief sub outings and a handful of B team appearances. The club’s involvement in the end-of-season play-offs extended his spell well into June and from there he went straight into international duty, making his debut for Norway Under-21s in a goalless draw with their Scottish counterparts.

After a brief return to his homeland he was back in Scotland and pitching himself straight into pre-season training – ‘I had a wee week in Norway with my family and friends, that was good, but now I am back. That’s life’ – and this season he will have the experience of Adam Le Fondre to lean on. Sixteen years his senior, the former Reading and Bolton forward has a wealth of experience to bring to the Hibs forward line and also to his younger attacking colleagues – Melkersen included.

"When you look at his career, he has scored a lot of goals. It is still early but I’ve already developed a good relationship with him,” Melkersen explains. “We have already talked a lot about how to play the game as a striker and listening to him and being able to ask him questions will benefit me a lot, I am sure.

"I think you always have to listen to the players who are older than you and players who have experience. They know more than me, so I need to try to soak everything in. I am still a young player; I am just 20 so there are a lot more years to come and I want to get better. That is why I must listen to other people and have a positive attitude.”

Melkersen leaps highest to score Hibs' first goal at Meadowbank. Picture: Craig Williamson/SNS Group

If Melkersen can combine his burgeoning talent with that positive attitude, you imagine he will make the most of what could be considered a fresh start in the Capital. His arrival was accompanied by great fanfare, as is often the case when players are signed for significant fees, but there is a feeling that a bit too much was asked of him too soon, given injuries to the club’s first-choice forwards. As such, he perhaps wasn’t afforded the chance to fully adapt and settle to a new way of life, a new country, and a new style of football. But he insists he knows all too well that these things cannot be rushed.

“I knew it would take time when I arrived,” he says. “Football is a marathon, you need to take it one step at a time and try not to rush it and take two steps at a time. Mastering the ability to be patient is the most difficult thing in the world so it hasn’t been easy, but it’s something I must do. If I can master that patience then I know I can accomplish everything I want.”

Melkersen’s next involvement for Hibs will be against Europa of Gibraltar, and English Premier League side Bournemouth during the club’s summer training camp in Spain, followed by the visit of Dutch side Groningen just before the first leg of Hibs’ Europa Conference League second-round qualifier against either Víkingur Gøta of the Faroes or Andorran side Inter Club d’Escaldes. The Cherries and Groningen will both provide a stern test for Hibs and will be a good warm-up for the continental matches. With Hibs hoping to reach the group stages, they will need to see off Víkingur or Inter, and then negotiate the third qualifying round and a play-off round to reach the groups. The teams they are likely to face in the latter rounds will be a significant step up, but Melkersen is quietly confident of making a positive impact on the European stage.

“I think the style of European football suits me. I think it will be a good platform for me,” he muses. Not that he’s making any predictions, of course. When asked what to expect of him this season, the reply is accompanied by a little smile: “You will see later!”