Lee Johnson explains situation with Hibs youngsters as he defends City Group loan plans

Lee Johnson remains determined to promote Hibs youngsters into the first team but he says that should not preclude him from working on loan deals.

Lee Johnson during a Hibs training session on Wednesday. (Photo by Ross Parker / SNS Group)

The Easter Road boss has spoken of his plans to meet with the City Football Group to assess the possibility of bringing in top talent on short-term deals next term but, in response to concerns from ex-players and pundits, he maintains there is still room for some of the club’s academy graduates to step up.

“At our level you have to get two or three good loans unless you’re going to play four or five 16 or 17-year-olds.”

Hibs’ development squad wrapped up the reserve league on Tuesday night, while the success of the youth players in Europe this term, where they claimed the scalps of Molde and Nantes, has prompted calls for more first team game time for several of those involved.

Hibs manager Lee Johnson with youngster Josh O'Connor after the 6-0 win over Aberdeen at Easter Road on January 28. (Photo by Paul Devlin / SNS Group)

Johnson says he shares the desire to see the club produce more Premiership players but explains that there has to be a balance to the squad and some careful planning to ensure the key positions are addressed while still allowing youngsters who are already on the books room for growth.

“We’ve got some great young players at this football club who I’m really excited about. But who in their right mind would turn down the opportunity to have a fantastic link with top clubs and global entities?

“It’s not just younger players; we’re talking about partnerships, data transfer, knowledge transfer, sponsorship. So, why would you not capitalise on that?

“The City Football Group, as an example, must have about 600 players - and it might be a 32-year-old who has the potential to jump into the team from a different country. Everything is assessed.

“If we have a young left-back coming through, who we believe is going to be in the starting XI all of next year, we’re not going to be asking Liverpool, or Manchester United, or Manchester City, for their options at left-back. It’s all about maximising the numbers as well in a budgetary sense.”

Josh O’Connor is one of the Hibs youngsters who has sampled first team football this term, coming on in the 6-0 win over Aberdeen and in the January draw with Ross County. But Johnson says there are reasons why others remain ahead of him in the pecking order – for now.

“The difference, for example, between a Mykola Kukharevych and a Josh O’Connor would be some physicality differences, some experience differences in terms of where they’ve played, international football, and they’re different types of players.

“We always look internally first but it has to be part of the Rubik’s Cube, in terms of the squad and budgetary dynamic, to look at the bigger picture. You would be losing out if you didn’t have conversations with the big clubs and superpowers that want to help you because they’ve been into the environment, they’ve seen the training ground, they’ve seen the identity of the club – they want to help us because of what we can give them back.

“These partnerships are two-way things. The club has signed partnerships with clubs previously and sometimes haven’t maximised them so it’s something that’s important for us as a football club to bridge the gap.”