Doig ready for his new Italian job
Hibs young star geared up for £3m exit as deadly Doidge blitzes Clyde with a hat-trick
LEE JOHNSON last night confirmed that Josh Doig stands on the verge of a life-changing transfer after the club accepted an offer of around £3million from Hellas Verona.
Doig was left out of the squad as Hibernian opened their season with a thumping win over League One outfit Clyde and will travel to Italy to complete the formalities of the deal tomorrow.
Named the SFWA Young Player of the Year in 2021 after a stunning breakout season, the 20-year-old full-back’s form shaded last term, but Hibs’ new manager Johnson has seen enough to suspect the transfer will be the making of the teenager.
And he expressed his hope that club owner Ron Gordon will allocate him a sufficient portion of the proceeds to source a replacement.
He said: ‘It was probably too big a risk for Josh to play with the transfer so close. It is at a point where we have accepted a bid and the player will go to Italy to discuss personal terms.
‘It could easily fall down. If it does, we will welcome him back with open arms. If not, we need to make sure that we utilise any available funds well and also congratulate him.
‘Josh is a good young player. He has a lot of things to work on but who hasn’t at 20? He is a bionic athlete, physically a real powerhouse. That is what stands out more than anything.
‘He is a good guy with a good growth mindset. A good student and I think it will be great for him. The Italian game is very defensive, very organised, a lot of drilling and I think that is the sort of thing that can take him to a new level, obviously in a good league too.
‘Ideally, you don’t want to lose your best players but at a club like ours we are always going to be at the mercy of that unless we start paying £150k a week.
‘You have to make sure you have a natural line through the academy, a succession plan, and also be on it with your recruitment.’
Johnson handed competitive Hibs debuts to five new signings but it was an established favourite who dominated the narrative around this Premier Sports Cup curtain-raiser.
Welsh striker Christian Doidge, linked with a potential departure over the summer, staked his claim for a future under the new boss with a rapid-fire treble. Inside 13 first-half minutes, Doidge scored with his chest and each foot to display a predatory touch that could just serve Johnson’s high-intensity gameplan well.
‘Christian got his chance to start and he was excellent,’ said the manager. ‘He has been great, personality wise and in his application in training.’
That Hibs are even involved at this stage of the competition speaks to the scale of the regression in the team over the second half of last season.
Finalists last year, their declining league form saw them miss out on Europe and unseeded for this term’s edition.
It was, of course, Jack Ross who guided the club to that showpiece occasion against Celtic but he was removed from office leaving David Gray as caretaker for the final.
Shaun Maloney’s tenure may be best forgotten but he did bequeath a few gifts to new boss Johnson. The signing of experienced goalkeeper David Marshall was teed up by the outgoing Maloney, while he was also responsible for January arrivals Elias Melkersen and Ewan Henderson.
Deployed either side of Doidge, their combined movement and invention helped pull the Clyde defence all over the place and make
the striker’s job simple. Melkersson teed up the first with a deflected cross that invited Doidge to throw himself into the ball and bundle it over the line and then the Norwegian grabbed the second after some good work by Josh Campbell. Doidge then completed his treble with two in the space of barely a minute.
Jake Doyle-Hayes dribbled a little too easily through the Clyde lines before reversing a clever pass which Doidge lofted over
Neil Parry.
Chris Cadden provided the next with a cross jabbed home by the striker before Campbell got in on the act with a deflected finish.
Clyde boss Danny Lennon said:
‘We had a tough period in the first half where we capitulated.
Maybe I need to look at my part in that for giving Hibs too much respect.’
As entertaining as the first period was, the second half was a comparative non-event. Kyle
McClelland, Lewis Miller and
Aiden McGeady joined fellow newbies Marshall and Nohan
Kenneh from the bench while
Dylan Tait also appeared for the first time after spending last term out on loan.