Hibs defender Ryan Porteous linked with big-money move to Russia

According to reports, FC Krasnodar are lining up a bid in the region of £1million for the 22-year-old, who has impressed at the heart of Hibs’ defence this season.

Porteous was recently recalled to the Scotland squad, although he has yet to win his first cap, and has also been subject of interest from Millwall and Galatasaray in the past 12 months.

The Sun claims that Krasnodar owner Sergey Galitsky believes that a seven-figure fee would be enough to tempt Hibs into selling. Porteous currently has 18 months left on his contract, but attempts to tie him down on a longer-term deal by the Hibs board have so far failed.

Hibs are in the process of appointing a new manager after parting company with Jack Ross earlier in the week and Krasnodar may feel this is the ideal time to swoop given the uncertainty at Easter Road right now.

This is not the first time that a Russian Premier League club has come in for a Hibs player. Back in 2006, Lokomotiv Moscow paid Hibs £1.5m to sign striker Garry O’Connor, who went on to score the winning goal for the Railwaymen in the Russian Cup final.

FC Krasnodar, who sit third in their division right now, are one of Russia’s top clubs and regularly compete on the European stage. They are managed by Belarussian coach Viktor Goncharenko and have Swedish internationalist Viktor Claesson, Polish midfielder Grzegorz Krychowiak and former Newcastle United midfielder Remy Cabella in their ranks.