Momodou Bojang exit imminent as Hibs boss explains why loan was an African academy experiment

Hibs will cancel Momodou Bojang’s loan in the coming days to save a potentially expensive outlay for the Gambian striker further down the line, manager Lee Johnson has explained.

The 21-year-old arrived in the summer on a season-long loan deal from Rainbow FC in his home country, but failed to score in seven appearances and hasn’t featured since September. Johnson believes the player isn’t quite ready for first-team football, but explained that the decision to bring him in was also an experiment to tap into the African market.

Confirming reports that Bojang’s loan is being cut short, Johnson explained: “Yes, that’s likely. We’re just dotting the is and crossing the ts on that one. There was a break clause in the loan.

“The context behind every move is different. It was never a transfer where everything was guaranteed. It was a deal to see whether we could open up the avenue to the African academies that produce very good players.

Momodou Bojang arrived on a one-year loan deal from Rainbow FC in Gambia in the summer but failed to make an impact. Picture: Mark Scates / SNS

“This was a bit of a trial for us and him. He’s done OK. Had he dropped into the academy in that development phase he’d have been absolutely fine in time, but because it was a loan that potentially had to be converted to a financial cost to the club, we had to make a decision. The decision is he’s going back to Rainbow FC and the loan is cancelled.

“I’ve tried to give him as much opportunity as I could to trial at other clubs in Europe by telling him as early as I could and set himself up for January.”