Hibs send Nohan Kenneh on loan to league rivals as Easter Road January shake-up continues

Hibs have loaned midfielder Nohan Kenneh to Ross County for the remainder of the season, as the club’s January squad reshuffle continues.

The return to fitness and subsequent rejection of a move to Forest Green Rovers by Jake Doyle-Hayes means manager Lee Johnson has another body in the middle of the park and with the former Leeds United youngster playing just 28 minutes across two substitute appearances since the cinch Premiership resumed following the World Cup break, a decision has been taken to allow the 20-year-old to get more gametime in the Scottish top flight.

Kenneh’s departure is the sixth exit of the month for a Hibs team who need to move players on and trim the size of their first-team squad. More outs are expected, going by Johnson’s comments during his pre-match press conference.

Prior to the mid-season hiatus, Kenneh had appeared in all but three of Hibs’ league matches, scoring once in a 2-1 defeat by Livingston. But he didn’t come off the bench in the matches against Rangers or Livingston in December, and although he played 25 minutes in the second half of the 4-0 home defeat by Celtic, he was an unused sub at Tynecastle for the new year derby, and was introduced with just three minutes remaining in last weekend’s win at Motherwell.

Nohan Kenneh will join Ross County for the remainder of the season

Kenneh is well regarded by the Easter Road coaching staff but the feeling is he will benefit from playing every week, rather than being in and out of the team in the Capital. He will return to Hibs in the summer with more experience of the Scottish game under his belt. The Staggies are currently propping up the Premiership with 16 points from their 21 games but are within touching distance of Motherwell and Hibs’ weekend opponents Dundee United in tenth and eleventh respectively.

Johnson said: “In Nohan’s breakthrough season, he’s already made a considerable number of appearances. We believe this is the best move for him in the short and medium term to get starts and to continue his positive development.

“I will personally keep a very close eye on his performance at Ross County and will continue to communicate with him regarding his personal development plan. We look forward to seeing how this loan spell has benefited him when he comes back in the summer.”