Hibs add power to midfield by landing 6ft 1in Edwin de Graaf

The 30-year-old former Feyenoord player flew into Edinburgh yesterday to agree a two-year contract with the Easter Road club and become Hughes' first signing of the summer. De Graaf was available on a free transfer after declining to renew his contract with NAC Breda in his homeland.

As Hibs' form faded in the second half of last season, winning just three of their last 18 matches before securing a fourth-place SPL finish, there was considerable criticism of the midfield department which was perceived by many of their supporters to be too lightweight. De Graaf, who can operate in either central midfield or on the right flank, has a reputation as both an attack-minded player and a forceful and committed influence. "Edwin is a real gem of a signing," said Hughes, "and brings a wealth of footballing experience at the highest level, having played regularly in the Eredivisie, and in the Uefa Cup over the past couple of seasons.

"He is a powerful box-to-box player, who loves getting forward. His physical presence and leadership qualities will be great assets for the team as we look forward to our European campaign and the start of the SPL season. I can't wait to get him involved at the training centre and in our pre-season games."

De Graaf began his senior career with RBC Roosendaal in the 2001-02 campaign, helping them win promotion to the Dutch Eredevisie as he scored nine goals in 26 appearances during his debut season.

He moved to Feyenoord in 2004, but was unable to secure a regular first team place with the Rotterdam giants for whom he made only six appearances. De Graaf was loaned out to his home town club Den Haag for most of the 2005-06 season before joining NAC Breda in the summer of 2006.

He quickly became a hugely popular figure at Breda, helping them to an impressive third-place finish in the Eredevisie in 2008. De Graaf enjoyed the most productive four years of his career to date with the club, scoring 18 goals in 95 appearances and helping them qualify for European competition.

Last season, NAC Breda took part in the inaugural Europa League with De Graaf scoring three times in their 8-0 aggregate defeat of Armenian side Gandzasar in the second qualifying round. After beating Polonia Warsaw 4-1 on aggregate in the next round, Breda found themselves outclassed in the play-off round by Villarreal, although De Graaf did glean the consolation of another European goal to his tally as they were swamped 9-2 on aggregate by the Spanish team.

De Graaf should make his competitive debut for Hibs in the Europa League third qualifying round next month, one of several incentives which persuaded him to turn down rival offers from English Championship side Barnsley, German club Duisburg and American MLS outfit DC United to join Hibs.

"I am delighted to be joining a club with such a great set-up and fantastic history," De Graaf told www.hibernianfc.co.uk. "I had a lot of options available to me this summer, but having seen the training centre, the stadium and having spoken to the manager, I was really excited about the prospect of coming to play in Edinburgh with Hibernian.

"I'm keen to get settled in Edinburgh and to start training with the boys in July. I know how the manager wants our team to play football and it is great to have Europa League football to look forward to at the start of the season."

Hibs are due to begin pre-season training on 1 July and their preparations for the new season will centre around a trip to the Netherlands which includes a match against Den Haag, one of de Graaf's former clubs.

As Hughes begins to reshape his squad, having last month released the quartet of Yves Ma-Kalambay, Patrick Cregg, Abdessalam Benjelloun and Darren McCormack, he will be mindful of the 23 July Uefa deadline for players to be eligible for the third qualifying round of the Europa League.