Hibs boss Lee Johnson addresses Ryan Porteous to Rangers link: 'I'd rather he went down south'

Hibs manager Lee Johnson has not ruled out losing Ryan Porteous in January but says that on current evidence he does not expect the Scotland defender to join Rangers when the transfer window opens.

Hibs defender Ryan Porteous has been approached by clubs in England - but not Rangers as yet despite reported interest. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

Revealing that there are no guarantees that any money raised from the sale of a player, whose contract expires in the summer, would be automatically spent on bringing in a first team replacement, he added that no-one would be prising him away from the club next month without offering suitable recompense.

Ahead of the Easter Road side’s Thursday night trip to Ibrox, where they will provide the opposition in Michael Beale’s first game as Rangers manager, the capital gaffer admitted that there are a number of suitors sniffing round the Hibs academy graduate, who turned down the club’s final offer in November, but he stated that, as far as he was aware, and contrary to media links, Rangers are not among them.

“I have spoken to him [Ryan], on a regular basis about potential options and he’s asked my advice on various clubs, Championship clubs, foreign clubs and stuff like that but honestly Rangers is not one of the ones that have come up. That doesn’t mean they’re in for him but maybe they have not been as prominent as some of the other clubs.

“I know the clubs that are interested even, although I won’t reveal them, but no one has gone ‘bosh, there’s a deal’. They can’t do that yet anyway, unless they come to us. Until January 1 it is illegal to talk unless it is cross-border.”

And, if the 23-year-old centre-back does move on, Johnson would rather it was to a club outwith Scotland.

“I would personally prefer to see him go down south. It gets him in a different market and out the way because I like him. If I didn’t think he was any good I’d be happy for him to be playing for one of our rivals. But, if I was his advisor I would tell him ‘you have got to continue to try and be the best player you can be’.

“I have been in that position as a player, if you overthink and start putting yourself somewhere else in your mind’s eye then you make bad decisions in the moment. The more good decisions he makes then the better options he will have.”

Johnson says he has witnessed nothing in training that would force him to leave Porteous out of the starting line-up on Thursday, saying the player has the potential to advance well in the game.

“I would be more than happy to start Ryan against Rangers because of his training application, the communication has stayed consistent and we’ve been very honest with each other from the start. I have a lot of respect for that. I’ve seen players chuck it in training in these situations, I’ve seen them tittle tattle about the place in terms of walking around like Billy big balls as if they’re better than they are. But I’ve not seen any of that, with Ryan. I’ve seen a very humble, good guy that wants to win every game he plays for Hibs.

“There’s still a lot to do for him. He has bags of potential but my teams have sold Lloyd Kelly (Bristol City to Bourneouth) for £17.5million rising to £22m, Adam Webster (Bristol City to Brighton) £20m rising to £25m, and £3.5m for Marc Roberts (Barnsley to Birmingham) after he signed for a free and £5.5m for Mawson from Barnsley (to Swansea) that we signed for £60,000.

“So I have a lot of experience with this type of player. He is right up there with Webster, Kelly, Mawson in terms of his age and potential. They all had flaws in their game.

“I also think he has loads of improvement in him. I’ve a duty of care for however long the player is here to drive their performance. It’s not a case of you’re not with us, you're discarded. We will still try and help him get better.”

While there is interest from south of the border that is also the possibility of an overseas move.

“You have seen the success of [Josh] Doig out in Italy. That’s a good marker for Italian clubs looking at the Scottish market, and the [English] Championship has always been hot on the Scottish market as has the Premier League. Look at the likes of Scott McKenna who went to England and did really well.”