Welsh international midfielder Dylan Levitt became Hibernian’s sixth signing of the summer as the club announced his arrival from Dundee United on a three-year-deal earlier today.
The 22-year-old Manchester United academy graduate has spent the last two years in Scotland, with an initial season-long loan from Old Trafford turning into a permanent deal at Tannadice at the start of last season.
Despite missing two months of the 2022/23 season through injury and Dundee United’s relegation to the Championship, Levitt is highly regarded by fans across the country and his move to Easter Road is viewed as a real coup by many within the Scottish game.
In a move which shows the lad has a good head on his shoulders, Levitt has chosen to make Hibernian his new home following reported interest from Cardiff City and Hearts.
With experience at the Euros and the Qatar World Cup at only 22 years old, Levitt is a player with bags of talent which has been recognised by his national squad since his early forays with the Manchester United first team back in 2019.
After more than a decade in Manchester, Levitt spent some time on loan at Charlton Athletic and Croatia’s Istra 1961 before moving north to Scotland in 2021. Despite his young age Levitt has tried his hand in a variety of squads and looks well-equipped to make his mark on Lee Johnson’s evolving side as the club gets set to head off to Marbella to continue pre-season preparations.
How the Welshman fits into Johnson’s plans in midfield remains to be seen but with great technical ability he looks to be someone who will excite Hibs fans as we head into the new season.
Writing in The Courier, sports writer Alan Temple – who has followed Dundee United closely in recent seasons – describes Levitt’s style of play and gives an insight into what we might be able to expect at Easter Road.
“It would be fair to say Levitt benefits from having a tough-tackling enforcer alongside him.
“He is a classy, assured playmaker, rather than a battler for the trenches. He could even be deployed as a No.10, given his skill-set; arguably something the Terrors did not experiment with sufficiently enough.”
So, perhaps somewhere between Dylan McGeouch and Scott Allan then? Time will tell, but the prospect is an exciting one.
While the signing of Levitt looks to be a great piece of business in itself, the club’s wider approach to transfers during the close season is not going unnoticed by Hibs fans.
In a marked change to the transfer strategy of previous windows Hibs appear to be targeting ready-made first team prospects, with the experience and ability to impact the starting XI straight away.
With much of the our previous transfer activity focussing on young, raw talent with a view to nurturing them and creating sell-on potential, this summer has seen a handful of exciting players with first team experience brought to the club in the peak years of their careers.
Adam Le Fondre stands out as the exception to the rule but Lee Johnson has spoken in the past about his desire to include some experienced heads in the first team so younger players can benefit from their knowhow.
Le Fondre was described by Director of Football Brian McDermott as being “Without doubt… the most selfless person, team player I have ever worked with” and it’s those qualities which Johnson will be hoping to extract from the former Reading striker during his time at the club.
The club’s summer signings currently line up as follows, with young goalkeeper Max Boruc looking most likely to feature for the development side this season while gaining first team experience alongside David Marshall and Jojo Wollacott:
Elie Youan (24)
Jordan Obita (29)
Jojo Wollacott (26)
Dylan Levitt (22)
Adam Le Fondre (36)
Max Boruc (20)
The Will Fish situation continues to rumble on with Birmingham City linked with interest in the Manchester United centre half this week.
While it would be disappointing to miss out on Fish’s return it’s important the club continue to prioritise the signing of a central defender (or two) alongside a first-choice centre forward.
As the squad heads to Spain for a training camp which will include two friendlies against Gibraltar’s Europa FC and AFC Bournemouth work will no doubt continue on the ins and outs from the first team, but with only one pre-season fixture under our belts the signs are positive so far on the transfer front.
Header image credit: Hibernian FC
The East Stand 
Great signing by Hibs. Hopefully, Fish will follow for another season too. Disappointed about the big Ukraine lad as he always put in a shift whenever he played. I hope Hibs will bring in another Centre Forward.
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Good signing
Good article
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