Nisbet to stay at Hibs as club fails to agree deal with Birmingham
Kevin Nisbet will see out the remainder of the season at Hibernian after his proposed move to Birmingham City collapsed as the transfer window closed last night.
The 23-year-old striker had submitted a transfer request and appealed directly to owner Ron Gordon in the hope of pushing a deal over the line but the English Championship club finally pulled the plug on the protracted affair.
Birmingham had lodged what they insisted was their final bid on Sunday, but Hibs rejected the deal which was worth around £2.3 million with £500,000 of add ons.
A personal plea by Nisbet, who signed for £250,000 from Dunfermline in the summer, had prompted hopes that a deal could still be salvaged as City were convinced to extend their own deadline. But, further talks broke down and City took their proposal off the table, ending the chances of Nisbet making a big-money move before the end of the season.
The striker, who has scored 13 goals for the side currently sitting fourth in the Premiership, trained with Hibs at their East Mains training camp yesterday morning, as Jack Ross’ men prepared for tonight’s important trip to Paisley to face St Mirren.
In the wake of the on-again, off-again deal, it is now a question of how well the striker will deal with the tribulations of the past few days and whether the manager will conclude he is in the right frame of mind to include him in his matchday squad.
Nisbet was left on the bench as Hibs beat Dundee United on Saturday. But he was on the scoresheet when Hibs won in Paisley earlier in the season and also grabbed the winner when the teams met just before Christmas.
With Nisbet staying, Hibs dropped their interest in St Johnstone forward Callum Hendry and sent midfielder Stevie Mallan and forward Jamie Gullan out on loan.
Mallan secured a loan move to Turkish side Yeni Malatyaspor until the end of the season.
Gullan, who has mainly featured from the bench this season, has returned to Raith Rovers for a third loan spell.