Jair Tavares set for Hibs medical as club closes in on Benfica forward

Benfica forward Jair Tavares is set to undergo a medical in Edinburgh today ahead of his proposed move to Hibs.

The 21-year-old winger’s performances for the Lisbon club’s B-team have been attracting interest from a host of clubs but the Easter Road side are in the driving seat for his signature

Primarily a left-winger but capable of playing on the opposite flank and up top Tavares, who is under contract at the Estadio da Luz until the summer of 2024, could be the Capital club’s seventh signing of the transfer window after Momodou Bojang, Rocky Bushiri, Ewan Henderson, Nohan Kenneh, David Marshall, and Lewis Miller if all goes well with his medical.

Lee Johnson is keen to recruit in the final third with Hibs having seen the departure of several wingers in the last six months.

Martin Boyle was sold to Saudi Arabian side Al-Faisaly in January, Chris Mueller and Jamie Murphy both left before the end of the season, and an option to buy Fulham loanee Sylvester Jasper wasn’t taken up.

Links with Portsmouth wideman Ronan Curtis were wide of the mark with the 26-year-old on the radar of several English Championship clubs but veteran Irish winger Aiden McGeady remains a live option for Hibs and could return to Scotland to link up once more with his former Sunderland boss Johnson, who reinvigorated the ex-Celtic man’s Black Cats career.

Jair Tavares is due to undergo a medical in Edinburgh today

Hibs can offer Tavares regular first-team football, the chance to hone his skills, and potentially go on to attract interest from larger clubs in the future, with the Portuguese attacker fitting the ‘emerging talents’ profile in terms of recruitment.

“The 20-25 year-olds who are emerging talents – they are the ones you can buy early,” Johnson explained during a fans’ podcast.

"They might be on the fringes of Premier League squads or Championship substitutes and they're desperate to play – we can offer them that vehicle to go and be successful at a really good club. That is a market for us.

"Getting that balance in terms of personality and age and demographic becomes really important,” he added.

Meanwhile, Hibs have confirmed that their summer pre-season campaign will consist of matches against Hartlepool and Burton Albion during their Portugal training camp and an Easter Road friendly against Norwich City.