Marvin Bartley set to raid former club Hibs for first Queen of the South signing

Marvin Bartley is set to raid former club Hibs for his first signing as Queen of the South manager.

The 36-year-old had been serving as Davie Martindale’s assistant at Livingston but was confirmed as the Doonhamers’ new boss on January 7, succeeding player-manager Wullie Gibson, who left the club last month.

Bartley, who is hoping to impress in his first managerial role, will bolster his squad with the capture of defender Jack Brydon from Hibs on a two-and-a-half-year deal. The 18-year-old spent the first half of the season on loan at FC Edinburgh, playing 19 games in all competitions and scoring once, and also featured for the Hibs B team in the Challenge Cup defeat by Brechin City on penalties in August.

The centre-back travelled to Portugal with the first-team squad for pre-season but was one of three young Hibees, along with Allan Delferrière and Emmanuel Johnson, who joined Alan Maybury’s Citizens on loan after a partnership was announced between the two clubs in July. All three returned to Hibs earlier this month after their season-long loans were cut short.

Marvin Bartley will raid former club Hibs for his first signing as Queen of the South boss

Brydon played 12 times for Edinburgh last season as they won promotion from League Two via the play-offs, although a shoulder injury limited his availability. Prior to that he had loan spells with Stenhousemuir and Civil Service Strollers. He was named in the matchday squad for Hibs’ Europa Conference League qualifiers under Jack Ross at the start of last season but was an unused substitute in all four matches.

Brydon becomes the fourth player to leave Hibs in recent weeks, following João Baldé, Momodou Bojang, and Stevie Bradley out of the Easter Road exit door.