Aidan Smith: Best of luck to Florian Kamberi but he ain’t coming back to Hibs

Florian Kamberi made his Rangers debut against Aberdeen. Picture: Rob Casey / SNS

Hibs’ Swiss striker has gone to Rangers on loan, but he ain’t getting back to Leith after statements like this: “My second game for Hibs was at Ibrox and afterwards I told my agent my dream would be to play in that stadium for Rangers.”

Fans of other Scottish clubs have been listening to these sudden, heart-bursting pronouncements for years. They’re declarations of the love that dare not speak its name, at least while the Old Firm wannabes are still diddying around with one of the provincial outfits: “I’ve wanted to be a Ranger/Celt from all the way back in the womb… I’ll crawl over broken glass, landmines, brown M&Ms to get to Ibrox/Parkhead… The fans are the best in the world, a real Algonquin Round Table of knowledge and appreciation.”

For the benefit of Rangers supporters unsure of what kind of striker they’re getting, Kamberi is like a Son of Cristiano, as upright in both his running style and his self-confidence as the bold Ronaldo. At Easter Road he lurched between dynamite finishing and clumsy one-footedness, prodding the ball gingerly as if he’d happened across a motionless small furry animal or was wondering what was underneath the large flat stone. Loan Kamberi was great; Kamberi when he returned with a deal was only really great in his own head. Best of luck to him.