Bradley, Brydon, Fairley, Murray, and Tait: How Hibs loan quintet are faring at their respective clubs

Hibs don’t have quite as many players out on loan as they did last year but there are still a handful of Easter Road squad members plying their trade at other clubs in Scotland.
Dylan Tait has continued to put in a shift for Raith Rover before joining Hibs in JanuaryDylan Tait has continued to put in a shift for Raith Rover before joining Hibs in January
Dylan Tait has continued to put in a shift for Raith Rover before joining Hibs in January

Forward Stevie Bradley, centre-back Jack Brydon, utility man Jayden Fairley, and midfield pair Innes Murray and Dylan Tait are all featuring regularly for other SPFL sides or in the Lowland League.

Stevie Bradley

The 19-year-old featured sporadically last season, making four substitute appearances off the bench, but he was given a more prominent role during pre-season, starting against Arsenal and hitting the post as Hibs recorded a 2-1 victory before netting in the 3-1 win against Raith Rovers in Iain Davidson’s testimonial match.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad
Stevie Bradley has been utilised in numerous positions by Ayr UnitedStevie Bradley has been utilised in numerous positions by Ayr United
Stevie Bradley has been utilised in numerous positions by Ayr United

Despite those bright showings in pre-season, he was an unused sub for the Europa Conference League second qualifying round first-leg match against FC Santa Coloma of Andorra and wasn’t involved in any other matches.

On September 6 the Easter Road side announced that the attacker had signed a new deal until 2024 and would be joining Ayr United on loan until the end of the 2021/22 season.

Since making the temporary switch to Somerset Park Bradley has seen one manager leave (David Hopkin) and another take over (Jim Duffy), has scored once and assisted two more, and played in three different positions.

With one goal and three assists in eight outings for the Honest Men, most of his gametime has come as a centre-forward, rather than out wide, while he has also featured in central midfield.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Jack Brydon

The flame-haired centre-half impressed on loan at Stenhousemuir last season, playing ten times and keeping the club captain out of the side for some of those matches. The 18-year-old was involved with the first team in pre-season and even made the bench for the European matches.

Since then he has featured for the club’s Under-18s and B team, and re-joined Lowland League side Civil Service Strollers. Good on the ball and strong in the air he has helped Strollers to fourth place in the Lowland League table, and is set to return to Easter Road at the turn of the year.

Jayden Fairley

Like Brydon, Fairley spent time on loan at Stenhousemuir last season as part of Hibs’ tie-up with the Ochilview side, registering one assist in his ten appearances for the Warriors.

Featured regularly for the Under-18s in pre-season before making the short trip to Christie Gillies Park on a half-season loan.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Able to play in defence or midfield, Fairley scored a stunning goal for Strollers in their recent South Challenge Cup win against Lothian Thistle Hutchison Vale.

Innes Murray

The 23-year-old midfielder scored three and assisted two in a loan stint at Alloa Athletic last season and joined Edinburgh City on a season-long loan where he has scored twice and laid on two more in just eight appearances.

Murray is combining football with studying and will be looking to help the Citizens push for promotion to League One.

Dylan Tait

The midfielder is yet to feature for Hibs, but is training with the first-team squad ahead of his arrival in January from Raith Rovers.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Tait was signed from the Kirkcaldy club on deadline day and loaned back as part of the deal.

The 19-year-old has two goals and three assists from 21 games this season.

A message from the Editor:

Thank you for reading this article. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

If you haven't already, please consider supporting our sports coverage with a digital sports subscription.

Related topics:

Comment Guidelines

National World encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.