Juventus' Vykintas Slivka joins Hibernian on a three-year contract for an undisclosed fee

Vykintas Slivka (left) has 19 caps for Lithuania

Lithuania midfielder Vykintas Slivka has joined Hibernian from Juventus for an undisclosed fee instead of an expected loan.

The Scottish Premiership club had originally agreed to take the 22-year-old for a season from the Serie A club.

But the move has been made permanent, with Slivka signing a three-year contract at Easter Road.

He told Hibs' website: "This is another step in my career and I am really excited to be joining the club."

Slivka, who has 19 caps for Lithuania, recently faced both Scotland and England in World Cup qualifiers.

"The international matches against Scotland and England have given me a taste of the British style of football and now I can't wait to get started," he said.

Slivka came through the youth ranks with Juventus, but the closest he came to making a first-team appearance was being an unused substitute against Genoa in March 2014.

He had loan spells with Modena in Serie B, Gorica in the Slovenian top flight and Den Bosch in the Dutch second tier before spending time with Ascoli last season.

Lithuanian duo Deivydas Matulevicius and Vykintas Slivka will be team-mates at Easter Road

Slivka only made six appearances for the Serie B outfit - five as a substitute - but Lennon believes he can make an impact in Scotland.

"Instead of a loan, his deal will now be permanent," the head coach said after Tuesday's League Cup win over Arbroath.

"While he might take a bit of time to bed in, it is a good bit of business.

"He is a decent player and hopefully he will show what he can do here."

Slivka becomes the second Lithuania international to join Hibs this summer and now awaits international clearance to play.

Striker Deivydas Matulevicius has now received his clearance after joining from Belgian club Royal Mouscron but did not feature in the 6-1 win at Easter Road.

Hibs also remain hopeful of persuading Anthony Stokes to return to Easter Road after the striker's release by Blackburn Rovers, with Lennon stating that talks are "ongoing".

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