Hibs put striker top of January shopping list

Hibs will aim to bolster their attack in the January transfer window, with a list of targets set to be sent to owner Ron Gordon.

Hibs chief executive Ben Kensell is drawing up a list of January transfer window targets for owner Ron Gordon.

Chief executive Ben Kensell wants more strength in depth to help head coach Jack Ross deliver on the club’s target of a top-four finish in the Scottish Premiership.

Although Christian Doidge has returned to training after an injury lay-off, Kevin Nisbet has been out of form and Kensell revealed that another attacker is a priority.

“In terms of January, there is business that we need to do,” Kensell told the hibs.net podcast. “It needs to be the right type of business.

Hibs chief executive Ben Kensell is drawing up a list of January transfer window targets for owner Ron Gordon.

“It’s never the best window to do any footballing business in. Jack will tell you that. But there is stuff that we need to do in that window.

“There are certainly plans being put forward and we are discussing them with the owner.

“We want to remain competitive. That top four position shouldn’t be the exception, it should be the norm for this club. It is set at the top of our priorities.

“We all firmly believe that we can be, but we have no divine right to be there. We’ve got to make sure we strengthen appropriately and that it fits within the budgets that we can work with here at Hibs. ”

Hibs striker Christian Doidge has returned to training

Kensell said there was a “lack of leadership” at the club before he arrived at the end of July, but sporting director Graeme Mathie has since departed and a new football structure is being put in place.

Addressing close season player recruitment, Kensell said: “The [summer] window wasn’t good enough. It is as simple as that.

“What we’re starting to see is a lack of movement in that area, especially offensively. I think there are gaps in the squad that we need to fill.

“We’ve got a really good squad, but I think the depth perhaps needed to be addressed a little bit earlier in the window with some key areas.

“I’m an advocate of ensuring that there’s a clear plan, that’s it’s a structured window and that there are prioritised targets that we go after with the full backing of Jack and the management team.

“I think we brought in some good players. Did we bring in enough? Probably not. Did we need more depth to our squad? Yes.

Speaking on the hibs.net podcast, he added: “Some of the moves we made happened too late in the window. What we’ve ended up with is a competitive squad and we go again.

“The great thing about football is as soon as one window closes you have to look ahead to the next one.”

Kensell thrashed out a new deal for Martin Boyle which ties the winger to the club until the summer of 2024 and he has been negotiating terms with other key players who are coming to the end of their current deal.

He added: “Since the [summer] window closed I’ve been focusing on ensuring that we keep the players that we want to keep at the club. Then we focus our efforts on what we need to do in January to complete our football business for the season. Obviously there’s got to be movement towards the summer as well, because we have players that are out of contract.”

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