Pars are real winners of transfer merry-go-round
ON Friday, we saw the Scottish transfer window spring into life after a relatively slow start to the annual trading season. The likes of Motherwell, Ross County and St Mirren have all added to their squads in recent weeks but there hasn’t been all that much in the way of major transfers.
The previous evening it became public knowledge that Sam Cosgrove had knocked back an offer for Ligue 2 outfit Guingamp after Aberdeen accepted a £2.7million bid but, barring Iani Hagi’s permanent move to Ibrox, there have been few deals struck that have truly caught the eye.
Then, on Friday, we got three at once. In what must have been a busy day for the club’s media department, three new players were announced by Hibernian. After two years at McDiarmid Park, Drey Wright sealed a switch to Easter Road and was followed through the entrance door soon afterwards by Alex Gogic and in-demand Dunfermline forward Kevin Nisbet.
These are three players certain to excite the fans in Leith and there are obvious reasons why all have been brought to the club by Jack
Ross. In Wright, he has a winger who showed flashes of his ability for Saints and the former Sunderland and St Mirren boss clearly feels he can bring the best out of the 25-year-old.
Gogic is presumably Ross’ remedy to Hibs’ midfield ills, with the capital club suffering all-too-often from a lack of steel in the middle of the park last season. The addition of the combative Cypriot appears to be just what the doctor ordered and should provide some muchneeded balance to a midfield that has consistently looked ill-balanced.
And then there’s Nisbet, a player whose remarkable rise over the last two seasons is perhaps only bettered by Dundee United striker Lawrence Shankland. Only a year on from departing Raith Rovers in League One to play Championship football at East End Park, Nisbet’s close season will be spent once again acclimatising to a new club, with new team-mates in a new league.
It’s quite the change in fortunes for a player who was once released by Partick Thistle after failing to deliver on his potential. A haul of 23 goals in 32 games in all competitions for the Pars last time out – including 18 in 25 league appearances – is a terrific return for any striker and shows why Hibs were so eager to part with a six-figure sum to secure his services on a four-year deal.
Ross and Hibs generated their fair share of headlines with their trio of player announcements but while all three appear to be good fits at Easter Road, the real winners from Nisbet’s move to the capital might just be the club that the striker has left.
Not to be outdone, Dunfermline announced their own hat-trick of additions to Stevie Crawford’s playing squad on Friday; Kevin O’Hara was brought in from Alloa, Declan McManus was snapped up on a free contract and Dom Thomas signed a permanent Pars deal after spending the second half of last season on loan in Fife.
All three are savvy additions. O’Hara was a stand-out performer for Alloa during the 2019/20 campaign and it is no exaggeration to suggest that Peter Grant’s side could have finished bottom of the pile without O’Hara’s interventions in the final third. The 21-year-old chipped in 10 goals and seven assists in 27 league outings last term and should be looking for more next term in a Dunfermline side that will surely have one eye on promotion.
McManus was scoring seemingly at will for Falkirk last season, netting on 18 occasions in 26 appearances in League One, and it looks as though Crawford is banking on the former Ross County striker to replace the goalscoring void left by Nisbet. O’Hara will be expected to chip in as well, of course, but the chief goalscoring mantle will surely be held by the 25-year-old.
Perhaps the best addition of them all, though, is Thomas. Once heralded as an exciting prospect that could make a serious impression in the Motherwell first team, the winger has often struggled for consistency and a place he could truly call home.
Various loan spells at Dumbarton and Queen of the South throughout his career have presented Thomas with the opportunity to stake his claim for a starting berth at Killie but after three seasons at Rugby Park without a breakthrough, the 24-year-old has taken the decision to move down a level in search of an increase game-time.
On his day Thomas can torment a top-flight side, never mind a Championship one. The problem has been that those days have been few and far between. But there is no question that he offers Crawford something that few second-tier players can. He’s an exceptional dribbler of the ball. Thomas has all the ability in the world but he’s missing that consistency: something that a regular run in the Dunfermline side ought to help him discover. If he can, then Crawford has a helluva player to work with.
A couple more new faces are probably required – the Pars have also signed Steven Whittaker and Paul Watson this summer – but having banked a relatively large sum for Nisbet’s sale, theyshould be well-placed to strengthen where required.
If they can get another two or three of the right players in then there is no reason why they should not be aiming for promotion this upcoming season. Hearts will undoubtedly be the odds-on favourites to win the title at the first time of asking but with a couple more extra additions, it could be Crawford’s Dunfermline that’s chasing after them every step of the way.
All three Pars signings are savvy additions