Matthew Hoppe exclusive on first impressions, what he offers Hibs, agent influence, and Middlesbrough plans

Matthew Hoppe knew nothing about his deadline day move to Hibs until his agent phoned out of the blue, but the American striker knows how to adapt.

Just take his debut in Paisley. He was on the bench, having only had two days of training at East Mains after arriving on loan from Middlesbrough. But Hoppe got the early call to get ready and go on after just 15 minutes when Harry McKirdy jarred his ankle.

Hibs manager Lee Johnson proceeded to tweak his formation three times over the course of the game. Hoppe was moved into three different positions in attack but took it all in his stride, as he always does.

“I’ve played in a lot of formations in my career,” he told the Edinburgh Evening News. “I’ve played in a lot of systems, so I’m able to adapt to that. Even though I had only been here for two or three days with the team beforehand, I think it was a solid debut. I’ve got a lot to build on and improve, but we can get to a good place.”

New Hibs striker Matthew Hoppe believes he had a "solid" debut against St Mirren but says there are things he must improve on. Picture: Roddy Scott / SNS

Hoppe hails from California, but didn’t quite make the grade at LA Galaxy. He had a couple of years at the Barça Residency Academy in Arizona, before signing for Schalke 04 in the summer of 2019. He scored six goals in 25 senior appearances for the German club, including a hat-trick in a 4-0 win over Hoffenheim.

He moved to La Liga club Mallorca for a fee reported to be worth more than €3.5million, only to be hit hard by Covid and a series of injuries which restricted him to just six appearances. He joined Middlesbough last summer on a four-year contract and won his seventh international cap against Colombia at the end of last month. He’s packed a lot in for someone who doesn’t turn 22 until next month.

“It’s been full of ups and downs, but I think I’ve learned a lot,” he says. Hoppe was referring to his career as a whole, but he could just as easily been referring to the 75 minutes he spent on the pitch in wet and windy Paisley on Saturday. Welcome to Scottish football.

“They obviously love to run through you when you are a striker,” he replies when asked of his first impressions. “It is really physical, but I can take that and practise it for the next game. I know some things I need to improve already, but I’m looking forward to it.

Matthew Hoppe only trained twice with his new teammates before his debut agains St Mirren. Picture: Paul Devlin / SNS

“It’s unfortunate what happened to Harry. I wasn’t expecting as many minutes, but I was happy with my debut. Having to adjust to three different positions and three different formations – I think I was able to do that and can offer a lot to the team from that aspect. I just have to improve some minor things in my game and then I’ll be flying.

“I was able to play 75 minutes and I think I could have done more. I keep myself in shape by always making sure I’m doing the right thing and doing extra work, so my body feels good and I’m excited to play.”

Playing more often is, of course, the idea behind his move to Edinburgh. Hoppe managed only six appearances for Middlesbrough under Michael Carrick in the first half of the season, mainly from the bench, but is confident he has what it takes to make it in the EFL Championship after sampling top-flight football in Germany and Spain. He maintains a good relationship with Carrick, who sees the Californian as a player of huge potential.

“It’s difficult there,” Hoppe admits. “The team is doing really well. It’s hard to break in. But they see that I have what it takes to play there, so that’s why they sent me here to get some minutes and get playing.

Matthew Hoppe gets a shot away on the slide under pressure from St Mirren's Marcus Fraser on his Hibs debut the SMISA Stadium. Picture: Roddy Scott / SNS

“I learned about the move on deadline day. I left all that to my agent. I just want to focus on, wherever I’m at, giving 100 per cent. So I left it to my agent. I trust him – and Middlesbrough want to do whatever they can to help me, so I think this is the perfect move. Even though I knew nothing about it.”

His signing was announced just a couple of hours before the deadline when Hibs were playing out a 1-1 draw against Ross County in Dingwall. The players were given the following day off to recover, so Hoppe didn’t meet his new team-mates until Thursday but he has settled in very quickly.

“We had training on Thursday, then matchday minus one, then the game,” he explains. “So I didn’t have much time. I’d just come back from America and I’d been doing a lot of travelling, but I’m settled in now and ready to go now. I’m excited to see what this move holds for me.”

The Hibs fans will be excited to see what he can offer, especially with Martin Boyle, Mykola Kukharevych and McKirdy out injured. He is 6ft 3in tall and physically imposing, but Hoppe insists there is more to his game than meets the eye. He is not just a big targetman, but he can do that as well.

“I love to break lines, whether that means running in behind, coming short or moving around the front three,” he explains. “At the end of the day I need to go where the team needs me. Against St Mirren they wanted me to be a striker holding up the ball. I think I can do that as well, considering my size. I’ve just got to get used to it in this league.”

He will adapt. Hoppe hopes Hibs will help keep his international aspirations on track. Now that he has had a taste of it, he wants to stay in the USA squad.

“It’s a big goal of mine to represent club and country at the top level,” he adds. “I’m ready to do that here at Hibs and I want to maintain that over there. I’ve just got to keep working hard.”