Comment: Ofir Marciano deserves mention of big clubs – but Hibs fans shouldn’t worry

Ofir Marciano is only four months shy of his 30th birthday and has just completed his third year with Hibs. Before arriving in Edinburgh in 2016, he had spent the vast majority of his career with Ashdod, a humble Israeli club whose stadium holds just 8,000 people.

Ofir Marciano has been in strong form for Hibs this calendar year. Pic: SNS

His only previous experience of playing in mainland Europe was a disastrous season on loan at Belgian second division side Mouscron Péruwelz, who were in a dysfunctional state and barely gave him any game time.

As much as his revelation this week that he feels he deserves a crack at a “bigger” club may have come as a jolt to the senses of some Hibs supporters, his desire to move while his stock is at its highest yet is entirely natural and in keeping with the inclinations of most professional footballers who happen to find themselves in a similar situation. Scott Allan, Jason Cummings, John McGinn, Dylan McGeouch and Efe Ambrose are just some of the most recent examples of Hibs players who have chosen to move on to more lucrative pastures at a time when they have hit top form.

Across the city at Hearts, Jamie Walker, Kyle Lafferty, David Milinkovic and Jon McLaughlin have all done likewise within the past 18 months, while Arnaud Djoum – who is in a very similar boat to Marciano in terms of age, international status and length of service in Edinburgh – is also pondering his own future under freedom of contract.

Marciano is in arguably the best form of his life after a string of outstanding displays following his return from injury in the closing four months of the season. Although he and his family are settled in Edinburgh, a sense of contentment aged 30 doesn’t pay the bills in the later years of life in a world where the cost of living is accelerating at a notable rate. In a football context, Marciano has had no life-changing pay-day thus far. The Israeli has spent the past year working closely with Adam Bogdan, a goalkeeper of similar age and calibre who has just completed a four-year contract at Liverpool in which his salary will have significantly dwarfed that of the Easter Road No.1. Marciano clearly, and understandably, is sensing his chance to strike while the iron is hot.

Ultimately, however, his immediate future will be determined by the calibre of clubs who show genuine interest and whether they are willing to make an acceptable offer to Hibs, to whom he is contracted for another two years. Marciano has arguably been Hibs’ most impressive and dependable goalkeeper since the days of Jim Leighton and Andy Goram. If he goes, he will take some replacing, but Hibs have a highly-regarded recruitment department who should be capable of coming up with several adequate alternatives.

It is worth recalling that, had Bogdan not suffered concussion late on in a 4-0 win over Elgin City in January, there is every chance Marciano would have remained on the substitutes’ bench for the rest of the campaign, with the Hungarian having been in good form prior to his injury. Ironically, Bogdan is currently a free agent and refused to rule anything out when he spoke to the Evening News this week. Whether Hibs would be of a mind to bring him back if Marciano gets his big move remains to be seen.

Regardless of how the situation with the Israeli pans out, Paul Heckingbottom has given the impression of a man who won’t be fazed by the loss of any individual. The head coach, after all, managed to get a previously struggling team motoring in the closing months of the season.

The prospective departure of Marciano would be an emotional one, but Hibs have grown accustomed to losing popular players in recent seasons while simultaneously remaining – for the most part – on an upward trajectory as a club.