Johnson urges Hibs to offer Ryan new deal

LEE JOHNSON insists the Hibernian board must offer Ryan Porteous a deal that reflects his value after conceding that that the Scotland defender has been underpaid for years. A meeting with the 23-year-old’s agents is scheduled for next week and Porteous is in a strong negotiating position after excelling on his Scotland debut against Ukraine on Tuesday. The centre-back (pictured) is in the final year of his contract and will have attracted more admirers on the back of helping Scotland keep a clean sheet as they sealed top spot in Nations League Group B1. ‘We’ll have to offer him a very strong deal,’ said manager Johnson. ‘He has been at the club a long time, potentially hasn’t been — in my opinion — bumped up quick enough to maintain the importance of the player. ‘That’s where we’ve put ourselves at risk a little bit and have to try and remedy that.’ Asked if he would plead with the club to do all they can to keep Porteous, Johnson added: ‘Of course, absolutely. He deserves it. We want players who have done well, getting international honours. We don’t want to undercut them. ‘We want to show the academy this is what you can do and earn as long as you’ve produced for the football club. Ryan is right at the top end of that.’ Johnson’s side travel to Ross County tomorrow looking to build on backto-back Premiership wins over Kilmarnock and Aberdeen and could be boosted by the return of Kyle Magennis following a year on the sidelines due to injury. Kevin Nisbet and Aiden McGeady have also returned to light training but are not expected to return any time soon. Johnson added: ‘Kyle has had a few injuries but he has some great attributes and they are quite unique. We don’t have a player similar to that in terms of dynamism. ‘He scored a fantastic goal in a behind closeddoors game. It’s those moments our midfield could always benefit from.’