Top Hibs transfer assets in the spotlight - no need to sell but massive interest provides option to cash in
Easter Road hierarchy focused on strengthening squad after disappointing end to season
With the transfer window officially opening next week, Hibs fans might hope to see some early business done by a club with something of a reputation for leaving things to the very last knockings of Deadline Day. In an ideal world, David Gray would certainly like any new recruits signed, sealed and delivered to East Mains for the start of pre-season training on Monday week.
Quick deals? In a World Cup summer? You might as well wish for six weeks of unbroken sunshine in Edinburgh.
But there is, of course, the other side of the market. The potential for departures guaranteed to weaken a squad that, following last season’s fifth-place finish, clearly needs strengthening.
As bigger clubs circle top performers like Josh Mulligan and Miguel Chaiwa, then, who is most likely to be the subject of an offer that Hibs – in no need to sell, according to all official messaging from inside Easter Road – would be simply daft to refuse? Let’s take a look.
Instant windfall
To say that there has been interest in Miguel Chaiwa would be something of an understatement. While no-one has made a concrete offer for the Zambian midfielder, he’s been the subject of repeated inquiries.
The Celtic link refuses to go away, while a decent cadre of English clubs have also been sniffing around a 22-year-old with enormous potential. After a breakout first season in Scottish football, it’s not hard to see why the former Young Boys star is generating such a buzz.
Can you imagine the analytics file on a player of his profile and proven ability to run over the top of opponents? Even without looking at him, there are clubs out there who would be willing to spend a couple of million on the strength of his stats alone; the fact that he can actually play is the kicker for clubs seeking athleticism and ability.
Selling Chaiwa for any price would leave a massive hole in the Hibs midfield. But they’ll be braced for offers.
Top end talent
Reports of West Ham showing interest in Josh Mulligan would hardly have come as a surprise to Hibs fans. Even if they’d have been hoping that the all-action midfield wrecking ball had slipped off the radar of avaricious buying clubs … the Scotland hopeful coming back from ankle surgery just before the end of the season clearly wasn’t all good news.
Of all the players on the Easter Road books, the former Dundee midfielder – a free agent signing who cost Hibs a fair compensation package after coming through the ranks at Dens – would arguably fetch the highest value on the open market. But for that ankle injury sustained in January’s Scottish Cup loss to Dunfermline, the 23-year-old would likely have spent this week as part of Steve Clarke’s squad preparing to face Haiti in Scotland’s first World Cup match for 28 years.
Another phenomenal athlete who looks like the strongest, quickest and most aggressive kid in the playground when he gets his head down and starts motoring, Mulligan has drawn obvious comparisons with former Hibs favourite John McGinn. With 33 appearances for Hibs under his belt, another impressive stat when you factor in that four-month absence, a goal in the UEFA Conference League and any number of highlight clips setting off alarms on all the scouting platforms, he offers instant solutions to a lot of problems for a great many clubs.
He is also, without a doubt, the player Hibs could least afford to lose. Whatever the price.
Fast flip
On the surface, the very idea of Hibs selling Owen Elding after just half a season seems ridiculous. And unlikely, if the Easter Road club get their way.
But the young centre forward, only just turned 20, might just have the highest ceiling of anyone at Hibs. And that sort of potential, in that position, is always likely to attract serious money.
Elding signed a four-and-a-half year contract when he arrived from Sligo Rovers in January. Hibs always saw him as a superstar – and he’s ahead of schedule in his development.
Having accepted a club record fee for Kieron Bowie just 18 months after his arrival from Fulham, Hibs understands that the market for powerful No. 9 types can be unpredictable. But it would surely take something ridiculous to shift Elding so soon after his arrival in Edinburgh.
Left field bids
While Malky Mackay and the rest of the football department out at East Mains will be planning for every eventuality, there is always the chance of unknown unknowns popping up to derail the most carefully plotted contingency plan. Someone suddenly throws in a big bid for Warren O’Hora or Felix Passlack.
And, while he might be staring down the barrel of his 35th birthday and heading into the final year of his contract, Grant Hanley is guaranteed to have options once he lifts the World Cup after helping Scotland keep a fifth consecutive clean sheet on the way to glory in New Jersey on July 19 …