Martin Boyle capped a dramatic week with a last gasp equaliser which sent Easter Road into chaos on Sunday afternoon as the Australian international returned to Leith after a short spell in the Middle East.
The winger’s signing was announced on Saturday morning with fans given a lift ahead of Sunday’s Edinburgh derby. His surprise inclusion in the matchday squad gave everyone heading to the match a welcome boost before kick-off.
The rumours around Boyle’s return had begun following Al Faisaly’s relegation to the second tier of the Saudi leagues but his reported wages meant that few Hibs fans paid much attention.
Fast forward to the beginning of last week when news began to circulate that the Harmah City club had been slow in paying the instalments of his transfer fee and some sections of the Hibs support began to believe that a bid for Boyle might be possible.
The move to re-sign the Aberdeen-born forward on a three-year deal comes at a time when the first team was beginning to look a little short in wide areas with the injury to summer signing Aiden McGeady and has been almost universally welcomed by supporters.
The club and fans know exactly what they’re getting in Martin Boyle and his involvement in the squad makes a huge difference to the attacking threat carried by the team. It will allow Lee Johnson to continue with his favoured 4-2-3-1 formation even with McGeady and Demetri Mitchell on the sidelines.
The addition of Boyle also means there should be more time for Jair Tavares to adapt to the Scottish game and for Elias Melkersen to get to grips with his new role in the forward line.
While Boyle will be lacking fitness having not completed a pre-season with his former side, his presence on the pitch alone makes teams think twice about their defensive approach – as was evidenced on Sunday when Hearts changed their formation and personnel following the introduction of our new number 77.
To get Martin Boyle back while he is still in his prime is a real coup for the club and credit has to go to those involved in the process of securing his services for the next three years.
While the terms of Boyle’s transfer are likely to remain under wraps it would be sensible to suggest that the club have had to forego a sizeable chunk of the initial transfer fee in order to secure his services, which is a huge investment said to break our previous transfer record.
Whatever way you look at it, that is a serious piece of business.
With that said if, as is expected, Martin Boyle is selected to represent Australia at the FIFA World Cup in Qatar, Hibs will be in line to receive a share of the competition’s player compensation pool which is worth around $8500 per player per day from the date he joins up with his international squad ahead of November’s tournament.
Australia’s fixtures are set to take place on 22nd, 26th and 30th November against France, Tunisia and Denmark respectively.
In 2018 the compensation began two weeks before each nation’s first match and ended the day after the final game in the competition. With this repeated in 2022, the club could be in line for a share of nearly $200,000 should Australia fail to make it past the groups, with part of the fee likely payable to Al Faisaly.
With the sum set to rise should Australia progress to the knock out stages it’s certainly not an insignificant amount of money – money we weren’t expecting which could be used to offset the cost implications of Boyle’s return.
On the pitch on Sunday Boyle was greeted with a rapturous applause before the match, on his way back from his warm up and as he set foot on the Easter Road turf in a green and white shirt once again.
The noise of all three moments would pale in comparison when he combined excellently with Elie Youan to pop up with the equaliser with the last kick of the ball.
It was written in the stars that he’d come on and make an impact, but I don’t think many people – if any – expected him to do so in such spectacular fashion.
In truth Boyle was struggling to have an impact on the game for much of his second debut, with Hearts doubling up on him any time he got on the ball, with Neilson implementing a back five to counteract our attempts down the wing.
Some bumpy form is to be expected for the next few weeks as he builds up his fitness and his understanding with some of the new arrivals in the squad but his contributions on Sunday have already lifted the mood amongst supporters who are set to follow Lee Johnson’s men to Livingston in strong numbers again this weekend.
While there is still room for improvement, particularly in forward areas, the arrival of Martin Boyle will undoubtedly quicken that process and gives us a huge threat in the final third. If he can team up with Elie Youan regularly in the way they managed on Sunday we could be in for a treat.
Hibernian Supporters are currently offering fans the chance to win Martin Boyle’s signed, match worn shirt from the 2020/21 season over on their website, with entries £10 each.
You can find out more and enter the prize draw by clicking here.
The East Stand 