Mykola Kukharevych ready to make Hibs debut as Lee Johnson outlines striker's skill set

Hibs new boy Mykola Kukharevych insists he’s ready to make his debut at Easter Road on Saturday when Aberdeen come calling on Scottish Premiership duty.

The 21-year-old has kept himself ticking over in Belgium, training with OH Leuven’s youth team while he awaited the completion of his paperwork allowing him to end his stint with the Jupiler Pro League outfit and start a new loan spell in the Capital.

Manager Lee Johnson was eager to bring in the Ukrainian under-21 internationalist to add a different dimension in the final third.

“He brings something different and that’s the key. When we made the decision to move Christian Doidge out on loan, it was a sacrifice based on what we could do with those wages,” the Easter Road boss explained.

“We’ve brought in Will Fish, Harry McKirdy, and Mykola as well so we’ve been able to bring three signings in which we felt we needed to do.

“In terms of Mykola, he’s not a ready-made signing, so there’s no guarantee that he’ll hit the ground running. He’s not a Martin Boyle-type signing in that he knows the league and has played here before.

“But he does bring a set of attributes that we haven’t got in the building. He’s a physical presence height-wise, but he’s mobile and he’s technically very good.”

Mykola Kukharevych takes part in Hibs training at HTC

Kukharevych is eager to impress and could take the place of Elias Melkersen, who remains sidelined after suffering a concussion during the 1-0 defeat by St Mirren.

He told Hibs TV: “I’m happy now, everything is good here. The training centre looks good and I can already feel that there’s a great atmosphere within the team.

"I’ve enjoyed training so far and I’ve spoken to everyone and there’s a great feeling in the dressing room.

"I want to be useful for the team and help us get three points in every game.

"I think the Scottish Premiership is a good competition, everybody needs to fight for the team and give everything on the pitch. It’s a good challenge for me, I want to make an impression.

"I’m really looking forward to the Aberdeen game. I’ve already heard about our wonderful fans and if I play I will do everything to try to help us win.”