Hibs sent Kieran Bowie transfer fee kudos from rival as boss probed on landing same fee for his red-hot ace
Hibs have landed a major fee for their asset and landed praise from a rival manager.
Motherwell manager Jens Berthel Askou has praised Hibs for the size of fee landed for Kieron Bowie - but wouldn’t be drawn if he could attract similar for his Fir Park gem.
The Easter Road side have confirmed Scotland international Bowie’s switch to Serie A with Hellas Verona, bagging them a deal worth £7m. It’s a fee that substantially exceeds the previous record transfer fee of £4.4m set by the sale of Scott Brown in 2007 and includes a sell-on clause and achievable add-ons for Hibs to profit further down the line.
It’s the type of deal that has proven a rarity for Scottish clubs outside the Old Firm but Motherwell have their own situation to deal with in Tawanda Maswanhise, their red hot attacker who made it 18 goals for the season with a double in Saturday’s 2-0 Premiership win at Livingston. He has been linked with Celtic and Blackburn Rovers with others no doubt tracking the Zimbabwe international.
Could Motherwell get a Kieron Bowie style fee for Maswanhise?
He arrived as a free agent from Leicester City in 2024 and has thrived in Berthel Askou’s possession heavy team that has won several plaudits, currently fourth and eight points clear of Hibs in fifth ahead of David Gray’s team facing Rangers. Askou was asked at Almondvale whether Bowie’s deal now provides a baseline for Maswanhise amid Blackburn Rovers and Celtic rumours but moved to congratulate Hibs instead.
Askou said: “JT’s goals are going to add value to him, the team and the club. We have a game on Wednesday (vs Dundee) and the business we plan to do doesn’t really involve him. I never said he wasn’t for sale, but I said we don’t have a plan to sell him now.
“That’s the plan we are following. Eventually, he is for sale, it’s just not now. He is adding value and he would love to be the Premiership’s top scorer. The best opportunity for him to do that is by staying with us until the summer, and then we will see what happens then.
Will Motherwell sell Tawanda Maswanhise?
“I am not going to indicate a number. Hibs are a different club and Bowie is a different player. The clubs looking for his profile are not probably looking at a player like JT. There is a big market for both players and congratulations to Bowie for a great deal.
“Eventually we will say the same about Maswanhise and the club who sign him - but that’s not now. We will see how big an amount that is but he’s adding value and that’s good for the Scottish market that the fees are good.”
He added on Sportsound: "I'm not offering [Maswanhise] to anyone. What's important is that we have a plan that he's here, and we're going to stick to that plan, because he's adding value to the team. His performances and the team's performances is adding value to him, which will benefit him when he will move on eventually, and it will benefit the club.”