LEE HOPES OFFER IS ENOUGH TO RETAIN RYAN
HIBS boss Lee Johnson insists he remains hopeful Ryan Porteous will sign fresh terms after revealing that a contract offer has been made.
The highly-rated defender has entered the final 12 months of his deal and is in no rush to commit his future to the club.
Porteous was the subject of a failed bid from Millwall in January last year and has been linked with other moves south of the border as well as to Belgium and Turkey.
At 23, Porteous, who has also been called up to several Scotland squads, has already racked up over 120 first-team outings for the Easter Road side.
And Johnson insists he will not give up in his attempts to tie the player down on a longer deal.
He said: “Every squad has moving parts to it and Ryan is a great player, we would love to keep him but at the same time it’s his prerogative in terms of that contract offer.
“At the moment he has not signed it but we’re forever hopeful.”
Johnson, meanwhile, insists he is still keen to add two new faces to his squad ahead of the July 30 Premiership opener against St Johnstone.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Johnson – who has already recruited, David Marshall, Marijan Cabraja, Lewis Miller, Nohan Kenneh, Aiden McGeady, Momodou Bojang, Elie Youan and Jair Tavares – added: “I think I would be happy to go in with what we’ve got but ideally I’d like another two more, if it was one and the right position then that would be OK.
“There is a lot of good work going on here in terms that the recruitment staff is vast, which is quite unusual for a club this size.
“We’ve got a lot of regular information coming in regarding potential options, the availability of players, coupled with the fact myself and the staff have a good knowledge of the MLS, of down in England, Jamie [McAllister, assistant] has played in Scotland and we’ve got good contacts there.”