No one will pick up our stars on the cheap
But Hibs supremo Gordon admits prize assets could exit club in summer sales
HIBERNIAN chairman Ron Gordon admits the club may sell one of its rising stars this summer — but remains clear that no deals will be done on the cheap.
The Easter Road outfit rejected offers for Kevin Nisbet and Ryan Porteous worth around £3million and £1million respectively during the January window.
Both could attract further interest at the end of this season, while a number of England’s top clubs are also monitoring Josh Doig.
Sportsmail reported last month that Arsenal, Leeds United and Manchester City were all considering possible £1.5m moves for the 18-year-old left-back.
Brendan Rodgers’ Leicester City have now been added to the list of interested parties after sending scouts to watch Doig in his recent outings.
Gordon wants Hibs to be more than ‘a selling club’ as they look to grow and become regular participants within European competition.
However, the US-based businessman is also realistic about doing mutuallybeneficial business at the right time and concedes that point may arrive in the summer.
‘That could be a possibility and, to be honest, it wouldn’t surprise me,’ he said.
‘We are thinking about those possibilities and planning accordingly. I don’t anticipate more than one, at the outside two, but I do think that one could have the opportunity to move this summer.’
Gordon was speaking ahead of yesterday’s club AGM, which followed confirmation of a Covid-influenced £1.4m operating loss for the 12 months to June 30, 2020. Hibs could have recouped that money through selling either Nisbet to Birmingham City or Porteous to Millwall during the last transfer window.
Gordon, however, explained why those bids were turned down.
‘It was a question of timing and valuation, and about where the club was at the time,’ he continued. ‘They were not easy decisions. Both of them want to grow and compete at the highest level. I am 100-per-cent sure they will have other opportunities.
‘I think they both agreed. Kevin has come back and really contributed beautifully for the club. He’s a terrific player and it was fantastic for him he got his first cap for Scotland and another feather in the cap for Hibs.
‘Hopefully, he’ll continue to do well and be in a better position to move on when the time is right.
‘It’s tricky finding that balance of being competitive and allowing the players the opportunity to move to a higher level of football. It takes a bit of finesse. But I wouldn’t consider us as just a selling club. We get an offer and we sell? I don’t think so. We have a mission to be as competitive as we can be.’
Doig recently signed a new contract at Easter Road until 2025 as reward for an impressive breakthrough season with Jack Ross’ side. ‘I think he’s been terrific,’ enthused Gordon. ‘I love him, I love his energy. He has tremendous attributes as a player. He’s got great speed and a terrific shot. In just one year of playing time, he has grown and matured, he’s more comfortable and confident. I think he’s a terrific young man and a great player. ‘I’m excited Brendan Rodgers is interested in him. We have to balance being a competitive team with also not getting in the way of progress. For a kid like Josh, the ability to play for a team like Leicester City is something we have to be behind and encourage. There is a time for everyone. This is just his first year, so let’s wait and see.
‘I don’t think we should undersell our players. Josh is a great player, we are trying to be reasonable but we don’t want to undersell our assets as a club.
‘We need to find the right balance of what’s good for the club and what’s good for Josh.’
Hibs enter the post-split fixtures with a seven-point lead over Aberdeen in the contest to finish third in the Premiership.
With UEFA introducing the new Europa Conference League competition next season, that placing could deliver a guarantee of continental football until Christmas.
Gordon would be delighted to land that prize but doesn’t necessarily see third spot as the ceiling of his longer-term ambitions.
‘I don’t think we should ever not have more ambition,’ he added. ‘As a club, we will always have more ambition. But we have to go one step at a time. Finishing third is an accomplishment, for sure. It is fantastic. But, again, it is not in the bag. We need to finish the job. But if we do finish third? Major accomplishment.
‘But if we can finish in the top two? Why not? That is what we want to do. We don’t ever want to not have ambition.’
Gordon hopes to secure a replacement for former chief executive Leeann Dempster ‘in the next 30 days’. Eager to return to a pre-Covid action plan that envisaged doubling the player budget within three years, he argues that Hibs have weathered the pandemic ‘reasonably well’.
‘Last year at this time at the AGM, we had zero debt and we were sitting with £6m in the bank,’ reflected Gordon.
‘That was a great position to get us launched into our strategic plan. As of December, we were sitting with £2.6m. So we went through a whole bunch of money.
‘We were able to recoup some of that. We have £3.3m or something like that. Our goal is going to be to replenish that as quickly as we possibly can. We have a season ticket campaign coming up that is critical to the foundational piece of our business.’