Hibs signed off for the premature winter break with an impressive 3-1 win over Dundee United at Tannadice on Boxing Day. With the squad set to take a week off and our next competitive game not until 17th January at Celtic Park, fans’ attentions have turned to the January transfer window which is just around the corner.
USA international forward Chris Mueller has been training with the club for a couple of weeks and will officially join from Orlando City on New Year’s Day while midfielder Dylan Tait is due to arrive back from Raith Rovers during the break too.
Even with a couple of new faces already secured the club will be looking to act in the transfer window after a disappointing summer market. We’ve taken a look at a few positions Shaun Maloney may look to strengthen…
Centre back
It was well documented that Hibs were looking for a permanent signing at centre back during the summer transfer window with Jack Ross stating publicly very early in the off-season that it was a priority ahead of the 2021/22 campaign.
For one reason or another that signing never arrived and the club looked to Middlesbrough and England U20 defender Nathan Wood to fill the gap on a loan basis.
Wood only managed one appearance for the Hibees, a 3-0 humbling at home to Dundee United, before returning to his parent club in the north-east of England as Chris Wilder took over as manager.
It was a move which we appear to have typically grown out of in recent seasons, with rushed and last-minute signings a feature of transfer windows past but not so common in the last two or three years.
With Shaun Maloney appearing to favour three at the back, a central defender remains a position which the club will be looking to strengthen in January if possible. Darren McGregor has stepped into the side when required following suspension or injury but at 36 years old Hibs will be looking to bring in reinforcements.
In a possession-based system it will be important that whoever comes into the side can defend off the ball and also participate in starting attacking moves if and when we’re in control of the game. Ryan Porteous has continued to show he is capable of bringing the ball out from the back – his deployment on the right-hand side of the three at Tannadice further evidence of this – and it will be a big positive for the depth of the squad if we can identify a ball-playing centre back in the January window.
Porteous will miss the first three games of the new year, league outings against Celtic and Motherwell and the Scottish Cup tie against Cove Rangers, which may hasten Maloney’s need to bring in a new central defender.
Attacking midfielder
Hibs have struggled to replace Scott Allan in the number 10 role since the Scotsman fell out of reckoning due to health issues and the club could look to add another creative midfielder to the squad in January.
A player who undoubtedly has the ability on his day, Allan has found himself in and out of the team over the course of the season and he will be looking to cement his place in the hole behind the strikers with new manager Maloney favouring a 4-3-1-2 formation in his early days in charge at Easter Road.
Dylan Tait is due to arrive at Easter Road after spending the first half of the season back on loan at Raith Rovers and Kyle Magennis could be in line to return from the injury which has ruled him out since September.
Both of these players may allow Maloney to tinker with the make-up of the midfield but in an ideal world you’d expect a forward thinking midfielder to be on the manager’s wish list.
The attempted signing of St Mirren’s Jamie McGrath at the last moment on deadline day would suggest it’s something which has been on the club’s radar in recent months.
Centre forward
Another position which the club were very keen to strengthen in the summer, a centre forward will be high on the list of targets for the recruitment team at Easter Road.
Christian Doidge has had an unfortunate season due to Covid and injury which means he’s yet to hit the heights we know he’s capable of. With only one start and two goals in the first half of the campaign he will be desperate to put himself in the reckoning for more time on the pitch under the new management team.
James Scott signed on loan from Hull City late in the transfer window but issues with his fitness have meant he’s not filled the role of back-up striker anywhere near the level required for a side looking to finish in the top four. If a replacement can be found it wouldn’t surprise anyone to see Scott head back to his parent club before the end of the January window.
With Doidge and Scott unavailable for large portions of the season, Kevin Nisbet and Martin Boyle have been carrying the burden in the forward areas more than they should have to for Hibs and an additional goalscorer would go a long way to allowing both Nisbet and Boyle to have an off day now and again without having a hugely detrimental impact on the outcome of the match.
An extra, reliable forward player would also give Jamie Gullan the chance to kickstart his career away from Easter Road. A young striker who has flourished in two spells at Raith Rovers but never reached the heights for Hibs, Gullan has remained at the club this season as a result of the poor summer window.
Reportedly on the brink of a move to Kilmarnock before the start of the season which was scuppered due to Hibs’ failure to bring in a new striker, Gullan has been a hard-working and unwavering servant of the club for a number of years but now deserves his chance to go and play regular matches elsewhere.
With a new manager in the building it will be hugely beneficial for any January signings to be permanent, giving Shaun Maloney the opportunity to start to build the squad he is looking for with some continuity early in his reign.
As with any January window it’ll be difficult to bring in difference makers with clubs desperate to keep hold of their best assets, but hopefully Hibernian can identify some quality additions which will bolster our push for European football in the second half of the season.
The East Stand 