Hibs recruitment explained: Ian Gordon role, shift in focus, casting net wider, loan clauses

A club can have all the right infrastructure and be doing all the right things off the pitch but in the end it always comes down to the product on the pitch.

Hibs are no different. Throughout the month of January, in the winter transfer window, eight first-team players were integrated into the first-team squad – Rocky Bushiri, Harry Clarke, Ewan Henderson, Sylvester Jasper, Elias Melkersen, Demi Mitchell, Chris Mueller and Dylan Tait – while a further nine left on permanent or loan deals.

Five players were recruited for the soon-to-be-revived development squad and of the 13 new arrivals, 11 are below the age of 22.

This is relevant because it shows a clear model when it comes to new signings. Mueller, having just turned 25 in August, was the eldest incomer last month. Four of the departures were aged 26 or older.

Hibs were busy in the January transfer window

While Hibs chiefs are keen to marry youth with experience, there has been more focus on building for the future than ever before.

Footballing committee

Central to Hibs' recruitment business is the club’s footballing committee which includes among its members chief executive Ben Kensell, manager Shaun Maloney, and recruitment chief Ian Gordon.

The son of owner Ron has been working tirelessly on new targets and played a big part in the acquisition of Mueller as well as the capture of Norwegian prospect Melkersen.

Hibs cast the recruitment net wider and brought in Elias Melkersen, pictured, and compatriot Runar Hauge from Norway

Kensell explains how the committee operates.

"The football committee is the team that needs to pull together the targets aligned with Shaun's management team.

"I make sure that there is a governance to that process, to ensure that we've got the right players in, and that we've identified people in each position for every eventuality and then the discussion with agents and representative sits with me.

"We try to prioritise the targets that we're going after within the budgets that we have. If Shaun wants a player, we understand exactly how that player fits into the model.

Hibs recruitment chief Ian Gordon

"We do checks that are appropriate to ensure that we don't upset the culture that we're building here at the club.

"So we want to bring in the right individuals, who are hungry, ambitious, and want to play for Hibs. If all of those areas work for us, we'll sign the player.”

Option-to-buy clauses

Hibs concluded a number of loans during the window but crucially, have agreed options to buy in most of the deals which puts the club in the driving seat when it comes to permanent arrangements.

Hibs brought in Sylvester Jasper on loan from Fulham - and have an option to buy him in the summer

“We won't always have the biggest budget. A lot has been said around players coming in on loan, but if it's a loan with an option then that option sits with us and we can then make that deal permanent,” Kensell continues.

"So sometimes we have to be a little bit more creative. It can't always be a transfer fee up front, or a loan without any real obligation or option to purchase.

"I think we have got to be a touch more intelligent with the way that we do our transfer business to be able to actually get that player across the line in the end. And that's what we're starting to be.”

Casting the net wider

With new signings arriving from the Arctic Circle, Florida, London, and Muirhouse, Hibs have cast the net wider in a bid to bring in the best talent with Gordon and his recruitment team sifting through markets previously untapped by the club.

"I think it's been evident in this window, whether it be development signings with Runar Hauge and Allan Delferriere, even Joao Balde and other players that we've brought in, like Emmanuel Johnson, that we've got to look at players from different markets, because there are opportunities there,” Kensell explains.

"But we also can't turn our back on the domestic markets. We've just got to use our facilities and resources to make the right decisions.

"It's effectively prioritising what positions we're going after, what attributes we need, and then it's my job to try and secure them and get them over the line so they can form part of Shaun's squad.”

Just as important is hanging onto existing talents. Martin Boyle might have left last month for a £3 million move to Saudi Arabia in a life-changing transfer but the Easter Road side has already tied down the likes of Josh Doig, Jake Doyle-Hayes, and Joe Newell on longer deals.

Contract situation

It is no coincidence that, aside from loan players, Hibs have just three players on contracts expiring in the summer – a far cry from previous seasons. Kensell firmly believes that having players in that position isn’t healthy for the club.

"My view is that we have to build a core of players who really want to be here and want to achieve, and if we can get those players tied down, there are obvious benefits to the club.

"If they play well, then there's a value associated with them. I won't shy away from that. That's the business of football. But fans want players who they can support that want to give everything for the badge.

"I genuinely believe that all of our players want to be successful, individually and collectively.

"That's the situation but it's never easy, because players have different drivers and different motivators and what we've got to do is make sure that they align with that.”

Summer window

Maloney has already sat down with the recruitment team ahead of the summer transfer window as he continues shaping his playing squad.

"We have to work out exactly who we want in our positions, the depth that we need to be competitive across many fronts – hopefully Europe, both cups, and in the league,” Kensell continues.

"That's how you assemble a squad that's capable of delivering the targets that you set at the beginning of the season, and a squad that the fans will be proud of.”

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