Hibs 'tried for İlkay Durmuş' before sealing deal for his St Mirren team-mate Jake Doyle-Hayes

Hibs were keen on bringing İlkay Durmuş to Easter Road prior to his move to Lechia Gdansk, according to the player’s former manager.

Ilkay Durmus in action for St Mirren during the 2020/21 campaign

The Turkish winger scored eight goals in 68 games for St Mirren following his move from Wacker Innsbruck in the summer of 2019 and his performances in Paisley attracted interest from other Scottish Premiership clubs.

Speaking to the Paisley Daily Express, St Mirren boss Jim Goodwin claimed Hibs had been one of the teams tracking the Stuttgart-born wideman.

“It’s absolutely complimentary that clubs the size of Hibs think our players are good enough to make them a better team,” the Irishman said when discussing Jake Doyle-Hayes making the move east.

“I’m led to believe they were in for İlkay Durmuş, and we were disappointed to lose Jake to them as he had a real good two or three months for us when he joined up initially.

“He’d had no pre-season, and when he got a few niggles his form did undoubtedly tail off towards the end of the season.

“I think with a proper pre-season under his belt he’ll be a great player in this league."

Durmuş eventually sealed a move to the Polish top flight but Hibs made former Aston Villa youngster Doyle-Hayes their second signing of the summer after Daniel Mackay as Jack Ross beefed up his midfield options ahead of the 2021/22 campaign.

The Buddies are due a development fee from Hibs, who Goodwin confirmed had made the Cavan-born midfielder an offer St Mirren couldn’t match.

“His agent told him he was going to get astronomical money down south, and now he’s obviously moved over to Hibs.

"I hoped he would see players we’ve developed here like Jamie McGrath who has gone on to earn an Ireland debut, and see he could have gone down a similar path.

“At the end of the day, Hibs put in a better offer than we could match.”

Hibs have also been linked with St Johnstone defensive duo Jason Kerr and Jamie McCart, as the Easter Road side looks to build on last season. The McDiarmid Park side are understood to have rejected an offer for McCart from the Capital club but Hibs are expected to go back with an improved offer.

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