Lee Johnson admits securing new loan deals for Will Fish and CJ Egan-Riley would ease the pressure on Hibs’ summer shopping.
Manchester United defender Fish was a huge success after stepping into the void to replace Ryan Porteous. But the Easter Road club could face competition from Aberdeen to land the 20-year-old, who played 21 games while on loan. Likewise Burnley utility man Egan-Riley added steel to the midfield and backline after joining in January. Neither player had an option to buy inserted in their deal but Johnson is pushing to get both back for the new campaign. The Hibs boss brought in 20 players across two windows in the season just gone but he’ll look to “trim the fat” in this one.
Asked if he expects a big turnaround this summer, Johnson said: “A lot of that will be dictated by the loans. I’d love to have Will and CJ back, as an example. They’re not our only loans but while I remember a media report suggesting we had too many loans, with some of these guys we have an option to turn it into a permanent and some we haven’t.
