Kevin Nisbet Hibs transfer speculation addressed - and moment 'Hearts defender sent for pasty'

Hibs striker Kevin Nisbet dominated the headlines during the January transfer window – and his manager Lee Johnson accepts that if it’s the same case again in the summer, then at least it means the player and club are having success.

The 26-year-old forward has been in excellent form since returning from a ruptured ACL in December. He has scored ten goals in 13 appearances, his latest being the winner in last weekend’s Edinburgh derby against Hearts, and while a move to Millwall failed to be concluded at the start of the year, reports surfaced this week that they and other English Championship clubs are monitoring him. The Scotland internationalist’s current contract at Hibs expires in June 2024 and while it feels inevitable that the Easter Road outfit will have to field further offers for Nisbet, Johnson is relaxed about the situation.

“I hope the speculation builds because it means he is performing as well as he did on Saturday,” Johnson said in his pre-match press conference ahead of Saturday’s cinch Premiership match at St Johnstone. “I thought he was outstanding, his work rate, obviously the goal. He was quick to get in over the top, we have talked a lot about feeding him earlier. I think a forward wants to hear that as well. You want to get the ball into quality players as much as possible and Kevin has got a great goal scoring record but the bit I’m loving about his game most is when he is bringing people into play, he is taking the ball off the line, he is pinning defenders, potentially there was a bit of technical work we had to do with him and mental work I suppose based on the injury he had.

"You see now he is rolling his hips into people, he is pinning them, he is a big strong lad anyway. It was a great example when the ball came in during the Hearts game, he shaped up. I remember playing against Kevin Phillips who I thought was world class – low centre of gravity, dropped the shoulder, everybody was thinking he was going that way, but big touch, then spin, then stuck someone down the line. I think [Hearts defender] Toby Sibbick was behind him and he absolutely went for a pasty on the back of that move. You can only do that if you have a great touch, great centre off gravity and spatial awareness and for me that shows a real high level of football IQ.”

EDINBURGH, SCOTLAND - APRIL 20: Ewan Henderson (R) and Kevin Nisbet during a Hibernian training session at Hibernian Training Centre, on April 20, 2023, in Edinburgh, Scotland. (Photo by Ewan Bootman / SNS Group)

When asked if he believed Nisbet would be at Hibs after summer, Johnson replied: “Well I hope so. You never know. He is attracting a lot of interest, there’s no doubt about that. The Scotland manager was there at the weekend as well and there’s never a bad time to have that kind of game. But again, my challenge for him is: ‘Go and do that again on Saturday now, when maybe the atmosphere isn’t quite as intense. We need to go and create that intensity now, and we need that quality from you again and again and again’. If he does do that then he probably won’t be here because someone will come in with a big bid that we can’t turn down for someone who has a year left on his contract.”