Hibs eye Iceland defender Haraldur Freyr Guomundsson

Published on Friday 20 November 2009 10:14

HIBS are on the trail of Icelandic defender Haraldur Freyr Guomundsson with the 27-year-old having impressed during a week-long trial at the club's East Mains Training Centre.

The Keflavik star was due to return home today, leaving Easter Road boss John Hughes to ponder his options as he contemplates losing Ivory Coast ace Sol Bamba to the African Cup of Nations for virtually the whole of January.

Confirming Guomundsson's presence at East Mains, Hughes said: "We'd done intensive homework on him and he is everything it says on the tin, 6ft 2in, left-sided, aggressive. He played in a bounce match and did very well. We'll keep monitoring him but he has certainly not done himself any harm whatsoever."

Guomundsson, capped twice for Iceland, began his career with Keflavik, his hometown club, before spending five years in Norway with Aalesunds FK. He switched to Cypriot club Apollon Limassol at the start of this year but, when that move turned sour, returned to Keflavik.

The player said: "They seem to be serious about this. The friendly was set up for me and I did fine. Hibs are searching for a new centre-half and, hopefully, I have done enough to win a move there."

Hughes, however, won't be rushed into a decision as he considers his next move, aware that Ian Murray can, as he did in the derby against Hearts, play central defence while Frenchman Steven Thicot, who has yet to make an appearance this season, is another option.

So, too, Paul Hanlon who, although predominantly playing at left-back for Hibs, has turned in highly-accomplished displays as a left-sided central defender for Scotland's Under-21 side while Lewis Stevenson, making his first start of the season, produced what Hughes described as a "fantastic performance" at Tynecastle.

Hughes said: "I'll have to consider the pros and cons and have a conversation with the chairman (Rod Petrie] to see what the next step will be. Is Haraldur what we are looking for, would bringing someone in block the way for someone already here coming through? And so on.

"It's my name above the door and I have to make sure we do things for the right reason."

Meanwhile, Hughes will assess the fitness, both physically and mentally, of Bamba and Republic of Ireland striker Anthony Stokes on their return from international duty before deciding on his side for tomorrow's SPL clash against St Mirren in Paisley.

Bamba played two games in four days, against Guinea and Germany, having missed the derby with a knee injury while Stokes suffered, like every Irishman, the pain of seeing his World Cup dream evaporate thanks to French star Thierry Henry's sleight of hand.

He said: "We'll have a look at them and even if it means resting them today hopefully they will both be okay. There's a number of factors to be considered, Sol's knee problem, their mindset and fatigue."

However, midfielders Liam Miller and Kevin McBride have returned to training as has Merouane Zemmama although Hughes revealed it would be "touch and go" as to whether the Moroccan playmaker will feature against the Buddies.