Hibs have made a longer Kevin Nisbet contract the top priority for their new director of football.
The Scotland star is back to top form after a nightmare year out with a serious knee injury having slammed a hat-trick against Motherwell last weekend that lifted the gloom at Easter Road and eased the pressure on boss Lee Johnson. That's now five goals in five games since he made his return after the World Cup break.
Nisbet has 18 months left on his Hibs contract. Chief executive Ben Kensell stated earlier this week that Hibs are hoping to bring in a new director of football to enhance the recruitment process and one of his key tasks will be arranging a longer-term deal for the 25-year-old striker who is Hibs' main asset.
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Manager Lee Johnson recently complained about how Ryan Porteous’s contract situation had been handled and how he was allowed to run his contract down to the last six months.
Johnson is keen for all Hibs’ other prize assets to be tied up on longer contracts to avoid losing top players for nothing or a fraction of their value.
Porteous is likely to be sold this month with Italian side Udinese, who are part of the same group who own Watford, the current front runners to land the Scottish international defender.
It comes as former Hibs striker Tam McManus says John Park is the ideal man to fill the director of football role. He told the Daily Record: "Far be it for me to tell chief executive Ben Kensell how to do his job but the welcome back banners for John Park should already be in place at their East Mains training ground. It's a no-brainer to bring in a man who mined diamonds for my old club two decades ago.
"Look at the transfers, Scott Brown, Kevin Thomson, Steven Whittaker, Steven Fletcher, Garry O'Connor, Derek Riordan and John was a huge part of that success story. From what I can gather, he has a brilliant job travelling Europe as a senior scout for Rangers, it's only my opinion that Hibs and Park are a marriage made in heaven."
READ MORE:
- Aiden McGeady expects Hibs Kevin Nisbet interest and touts Rangers and Celtic as potential suitors
- Hibs boss Lee Johnson in 'one for the fans' Motherwell verdict as he hails Nisbet and McGeady
