Inside Hibs' deals for Elie Youan and Lewis Stevenson: high six-figure sum. why so vital for team, no sentimental decisions

Hibs have paid out a substantial sum to turn Elie Youan’s current loan spell into a permanent three-year deal but they believe that bit of business still offers them significant value for money, whether that be measured in the Frenchman’s contribution to the team in that time or any sell-on fee.

Elie Youan has signed a permanent deal with Hibs for the next three seasons.

The ‘try before you buy’ element of the initial agreement with FC St Gallen has removed some of the doubt but they know that digging deep to meet the Swiss club’s asking price – a high six-figure sum – still comes with an element of risk. Conversely, there must have been few such concerns when the Easter Road outfit extended the contract of Lewis Stevenson, a man who has already given the club their money’s worth, earlier this week. Two players at different ends of the career spectrum – one 24-year-old with plenty of years left in him and the other a 35-year-old who is determined to make the most of the limited time left – but, according to manager Lee Johnson, both can improve ahead of the next campaign.

“I think the only way is up for Elie,” said Johnson. “As we get better players around him, more consistency, and the emotional stability of a long-term contract is important too for a manager and player. You are making decisions based on that long run and you’re more invested in the team. That’s why stability is important. We want to keep our best players here. We’ve already lost good players and that will happen to some extent. But if it does it’s because it’s to go onto life-changing things for them.

“Elie’s physical attributes are outstanding; he can repeatedly sprint, consistently puts in the highest time intensity running on the pitch, understands tactically what we’re after so he’s trusted. It’s okay being a threat going forward but if you switch off going back the way … the last game is a good example of how many times he worked back and stole the ball off the full-back that was starting a promising attack. But they have to produce the numbers as an attacking player. I think he has to produce more numbers. But if his final ball was world class we wouldn’t have him.

The evergreen Hibs full-back Lewis Stevenson has signed up for another year at Easter Road.

“That’s one of the areas we need to work on. He gets in so many good areas but not quite often enough does that final action come off. It has in terms of the last three or four months, though. The main strength of Elie is the way he stretches the opposition. If you’ve got footballers like we have in Joe Newell, Jake Doyle-Hayes, Ewan Henderson, they need space between the lines. If you have nobody making penetrative runs then you don’t stretch the back line. It’s really important you have that speed to stretch teams and the quality behind it.”

Looking for the complementary balance in his line-up and a degree of consistency, it is unsurprising that Johnson also moved to sign up club legend Stevenson on another one-year deal. Insisting it is not a sentimental decision, the Leith gaffer – the latest in more than a dozen men the left-back has won over throughout his Hibs career – says the player who made his debut for the club in 2005 and has been the consummate team player ever since had earned the latest extension.

“You only have to look at the team selections to see that,” continued Johnson. “If you look at the physical outputs and the data we go through every day he has earned it on that front as well. If he hadn’t, we’d be offering him a coaching or an ambassadorial role, wouldn’t we? Or he’d move on somewhere else. Sentiment can’t be the prominent factor, it has to be performance on the pitch, but he was my man of the match last weekend. That shows he is still a consistent performer and he has more in the locker, I truly believe that.

“What you’re seeing is a good footballer moving towards the end of his career, but I actually think he’s still progressing. Obviously, if there was a physical issue then it’s a different story but he hasn’t lost legs. Therefore he can still offer on and off the pitch.”

Hibs manager Lee Johnson is delighted to have Youan and Stevenson signed up for next season.

That off-the-pitch ability to offer counsel and a solid example of how to be a team player and perform consistently in Scottish football is an important part of Stevenson’s appeal and key to integrating the likes of Youan and bolstering the development of the next generation coming up through the Hibs academy. In the past he worked closely with young Josh Doig and now, with the likes of Oscar MacIntyre working his way through the ranks, Stevenson is seen as a reliable first team performer and a mentor.

“That’s important,” said Johnson. “If you re-sign someone in the twilight of their career they need to add value to the playing squad or to the development squad or everywhere in between. That’s something this club has been brilliant at. You look at David Gray who is a really talented coach, you look at Darren McGregor, and I’m sure Paul Hanlon … these are players who should be integrated into the football club.

"The role model element is really important and I think Lewis is really good at that. He leads in his own way. His way is individual conversations, it’s not heading the wall and screaming ‘c’mon lads, let’s get going’. But he will sit with younger lads, give them time, be a sounding board and give them that level of encouragement.

“I think he enjoys that role. He’s the type of personality who will be delighted if Oscar or anybody else takes his place when the time is right, because he’ll have felt a part of that journey. Lewis Stevensons don’t come around that often, so when you do you need to make sure you hold onto them.”