The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Price must be right for Boyle, say Hibs
Hibernian manager Shaun Maloney has told Martin Boyle he will be allowed to leave only if any interested parties meet the club’s valuation.
The 28-year-old Australia forward has had his head turned by strong interest from Saudi Arabian club Al-Faisaly, who are understood to be willing to hand him a lucrative twoyear contract worth in the region of £20,000 per week.
However, Hibs – who value their talisman at £3 million – have rebuffed the Pro League club’s offers so far.
Maloney understands former Montrose and Dundee striker Boyle’s desire to capitalise on the life-changing salary that would come with moving to the Middle East, but he is adamant it can only be allowed to happen if Hibs receive a bid they are happy with.
Maloney said: “I’m very keen for Martin to stay. At the moment, myself, Martin and the club are very clear on the situation. There’s clarity on that.
“There’s obviously been interest but we have a valuation and until that valuation is met, there is no real decision to make.
“I understand the player’s situation but we’ve spoken a lot over the last few days so we’re really, really clear. I think we’ve both got clarity on it.
“Until there’s a situation where we have to make a decision on it, it’s very much a case of concentrating on training and the next match. If there does need to be a decision, then that will happen. Martin’s trained extremely well and he’s looking forward to Monday’s match (away to Celtic).”
Hibs have been busy in the January window, adding Ewan Henderson, Elias Melkersen, Rocky Bushiri and Harry Clarke to their squad, along with Chris Mueller, who agreed a pre-contract last summer.
Maloney, who refused to be drawn on reports linking Hibs with Brentford winger Joel Valencia, is hoping to keep any departures to a minimum.
He said: “I’m really happy with what we’ve done so far.
“I’m very appreciative of the work the owner and the CEO have done to bring in the players as quickly as they have because having this much time training has been a big benefit. I’m really happy with the squad I have.”
Maloney also confirmed he is willing to give on-loan Hull forward James Scott a chance to prove himself in the second half of the season.
The 21-year-old fell out of favour under previous boss Jack Ross, but Maloney has been impressed with Scott so far.
He said: “James will stay until the end of the season. I’ve been really happy with him in training. After what he’s shown, the next stage for him is that when he gets match minutes he has to show what he’s been doing in training.
“That’s not to put pressure on him because I think he’s done very well but the next stage for him is to fight to get minutes in a match and show his talent.”
Celtic defender Greg Taylor believes it is a “massive bonus” that fans will be able to return to matches in their thousands.
The former Kilmarnock player said: “I think it was the logical decision.
“We need our fans and to have 60,000 there on Monday night is only going to benefit us.”
Taylor has been impressed by Yosuke Ideguchi, Reo Hatate and Daizen Maeda who were all signed from the J-League to bolster Ange Postecoglou’s squad.
He said: “They have all settled in really well and are good additions to the squad and hopefully they can help us improve.
“They all have a fantastic work ethic but that is something that all of our signings this year have also had.
“But that work ethic and quality is only going to improve us.”