What would Hibs pay for top striker target? How club view '£1 million' price tag on Sheffield Wednesday star
Hillsborough club in administration and sitting on minus-seven points at foot of EFL Championship
Hibs are exploring the possibility of acquiring Sheffield Wednesday striker Bailey Cadamarteri – but have NOT offered £1 million for the Jamaican international, despite reports down south. And the Easter Road club won’t expect to pay anything near that figure, should they press ahead with the purchase of a 20-year-old from a club currently in administration.
David Gray has made the addition of a striker a priority during the January window, having just missed out on recruiting Scotland forward Lyndon Dykes on Deadline Day as the summer market closed. Cadamarteri – who flourished at Hillsborough under the guidance of Danny Rohl, now at Rangers - ticks a lot of the boxes on the manager’s wanted list.
Former England Under-20 forward fits profile for Hibs
Good in the air for a player who stands just over six feet tall, the former England Under-20 forward – a product of the Wednesday academy system – has been a virtual ever-present for a team rooted to the foot of the EFL Championship as a result of two separate points deductions as punishment for slipping into insolvency. The Owls, sitting on minus seven points after losing 18 points in total to punitive measures, are currently subject to a takeover bid from a group including Dunfermline owner James Bord.
David Gray expects board backing
Gray does expect to have money to spend over the course of the next few weeks, telling The Evening News: “The one thing that has been consistent ever since I've been in this position is the backing of the Gordon family. I think that has been there every single time. And I feel we expect that to continue if something comes up that we believe makes the club better.
“You can see how stretched the squad’s been because of all the injuries. But we’ve come out of that period with a good bit of positivity. I talk about squad depth all the time, and the togetherness within the dressing room, which I think is a massive, massive plus.
“That’s how you get the success that you get when you go through difficult periods and form isn’t what you would like it to be, maybe. That the group and the core stays really strong. And that's something that I think we've added to in the summer.
“I do think we need a couple of positions if we can, just to strengthen that and give a little bit more depth to certain positions potentially. But it does need to be the right type of people who will come in and make you better.
“We're not just looking at any one position. It definitely would just be key ones that we think makes us better.
“If we can, we'll look to add to the group. I think we're quite structured and set on what we're going after, really.”
Hibs have been short of another option up front since missing out on Dykes, with Gray keen to recruit another all-action forward capable of helping take the burden off Scotland striker Kieron Bowie – and providing a foil for the likes of Martin Boyle, Thibault Klidje and Elie Youan. Cadamarteri’s style, with plenty of movement helping to link play and bring midfielders into the game, would seem an ideal fit.