Hibernian

Jojo Wollacott was an unused substitute as Ghana got their Afcon campaign underway with a surprise 2-1 defeat against Cape Verde.

The Black Stars conceded a stoppage time winner after a mix-up in their defence allowed Garry Rodrigues to tap into an empty net.

Hibernian are favourites to sign Adelaide United striker Musa Toure, and loan him back to the Australian outfit, despite rival interest from a French Ligue 1 club, as the 18-year-old would prefer a move to Edinburgh. (FTBL), external

Olympique Marseille have threatened to move on to another target should Hellas Verona not accept their bid for Josh Doig, with the 21-year-old former Hibernian left-back's current club pushing to sell him to Serie A rivals Sassuolo instead. (Fabrizio Romano), external

Read Monday's Scottish Gossip in full here.

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Leeds United defender Kris Moore and Brazilian playmaker Adryan, who are both on trial with Hibernian, both have the chance to earn a contract at Easter Road this month, according to head coach Nick Montgomery. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

Read Sunday's Scottish Gossip in full here.

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Australia kicked off their Asian Cup campaign with a comfortable 2-0 win over India in Group B.

Hibernian winger Martin Boyle managed 63 minutes before being replaced in his 19th cap.

Goals from former Hibs' midfielder Jackson Irvine and Westerlo defender Jordan Bos gave Graham Arnold's side all three points. They still have games to come against Uzbekistan and Syria to come before the knock-outs.

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We asked for your thoughts on Hibs' summer recruitment, now we're halfway through the season.

Here's a taste of what you had to say:

Michael: I think Jordan Obita has been very good and consistent since signing, and Adam Le Fondre also looks like a good addition.

Danny: Most fans would agree the summer window was bad. Harbottle was brought in for a not insignificant fee and has barely played, for instance. Levitt and Vente will come good but haven't blown us away yet. From a pretty weak field, the best signing has to have been Le Fondre, who has shown flashes of real quality.

Bill: Sadly, no one has impressed. Vente has been invisible, certainly not an out and out striker. Obita has potential as a wing-back, not a defender though. Le Fondre has been missed. Levitt doesn't get forward, and slows the tempo down too much. I can't see where top six is coming from.

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Marseille are in advanced talks with Hellas Verona to sign Josh Doig, with the Ligue 1 club having made a maximum offer of £4.3m for the 21-year-old former Hibernian left-back, and are expecting to secure his services on a contract until 2028. (Sky Sports)

Josh Doig's former club, Hibernian, are set to receive 27.5% of the fee Hellas Verona will be paid from the sale of the 21-year-old left-back. (Edinburgh Evening News), external

Hibernian will receive 27.5% of the profit of any future sale of Josh Doig, which will earn them £357,500 of the £1.3m Hellas Verona will make if the left-back joins Marseille for £4.3m. (Daily Record), external

Rangers have tried to use the transfer of Ridvan Yilmaz to Hellas Verona in their pursuit of fellow left-back Josh Doig, but the Glasgow club face a battle for the 21-year-old's signature with Leeds United, Marseille, Sassuolo, Atalanta and Torino. (TeamTalk), external

Leeds United and Rangers are set to go head-to-head in the race to sign left-back Josh Doig, who signed for Hellas Verona in 2022 from Hibernian. (Daily Express, print edition)

Rangers are working on a deal to sign Hellas Verona left-back Josh Doig this month as the Serie A club make progress on a move for Ridvan Yilmaz, with both loan and permanent moves from the Ibrox outfit possible, and Borna Barisic garnering a lot of interest across Europe as the Croat enters the last six months of his deal in Glasgow. (Football Insider), external

Hellas Verona are in the driving seat to sign Ridvan Yilmaz on loan from Rangers, despite interest from Sassuolo and Monza in the 22-year-old, and are in the advanced stages of discussions. (Sky Sports)

Adryan, the 29-year-old Brazilian midfielder on trial with Hibs, once won a poker tournament during a game and was sacked by Sion after sharing his "drag queen dream". (Daily Record), external

Read Saturday's Scottish Gossip in full here.

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Hibs manager Nick Montgomery has confirmed that Brazilian midfielder Adryan is on trial with the club during their warm weather training camp in Dubai.

With a number of players injured or away on international duty, Montgomery is keen to have a look at Adryan, as well as defender Kris Moore, who is on trial from Leeds United.

Adryan has led a nomadic career, and has been without a club since he was released by Brescia in the summer.

"Right now, we're really low on bodies," Montgomery said. "We were due to play two games over here but we didn't have the bodies to do that, so we had two teams tonight with some young boys and some trial players.

"Kris Moore, a young defender from Leeds - we're having a look at him at right-back with Lewis Miller being away and only having young Rory [Whittaker].

"And then we had a trialist, Adryan, who has been out of the game for a couple of months, and through a contact we thought it would be a good opportunity for him to come train with us and have a look at him as well."

Hibs lost 5-1 in a friendly against Swiss side Servette on Friday, but Montgomery says he is mainly using the time overseas to build the fitness of some returning players.

"We've had double sessions everyday. When we get back we've got a few days before the cup game and then we've got a really heavy schedule.

"One of the most important things is to get some of the boys coming back from injury to integrate them back into the squad. Being in some sort of team training is really important for their rehab."

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Former Hibs midfielder Kevin Thomson believes Nick Montgomery's side are not "miles away" but need to address inconsistency in results - especially after going ahead in games.

"I think off the back of Lee Johnson, I'd probably give Nick Montgomery a wee bit credit in the bank," Thomson said on the BBC's Scottish Football Podcast. "I think Nick's coming in and steadied the ship.

"But away to Killie, a difficult place to go, but 2-0 up, draw 2-2, then at home to Ross County, 2-0 up, draw 2-2. [If you] put four points on the Hibee’s total just now, it's amazing how different it could look because it's so tight.

"I don't think they’re miles away. He's had Paul Hanlon and Rocky Bushiri, then fighting it out to obviously play alongside Will Fish. It looks as though he's a wee bit unsure in both and that brings inconsistency when you keep on changing your back four."

Thomson knows all too well about the expectations at Easter Road, and although he likes seeing young players such as Rory Whittaker being given a chance, says the team on the pitch needs to deliver for the Hibees.

"It's such a difficult place to play," Thomson admitted. "You know, people think of the Old Firm having high expectations, but the Hibees are the same.

"He's gave young players [like Rory Whittaker] a chance, which is pleasing, because it's something as an ex-player that I like to see. But the harsh reality is the Hibees want to see a team on the pitch winning and competing at the top end of the league. At the moment we're probably in anticipation to see how January is going to look for him."

Leeds United defender Kris Moore has joined Hibs on trial at the club's mid-season camp in Dubai.

The 20-year-old has been playing as a right-sided centre-back or full-back for the Yorkshire club's under-21 side and has yet to feature for Leeds' first team.

Moore signed a contract extension with the Elland Road club last year that ties him to his parent club until the summer of 2025.

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Amy Canavan is joined by journalist and broadcaster Gordon Smart and former Hibs midfielder Kevin Thomson to review the Easter Road side’s season so far.

• Listen and subscribe to the podcast here.

Hibernian have taken Brazilian attacker Adryan, formerly of Brescia, to Dubai for their winter training camp. (Football Scotland), external

Read Friday's Scottish Gossip

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Hibs defender Lewis Miller is confident he will return to Edinburgh as an Asian champion, alongside club teammate Martin Boyle.

The 23-year-old's is currently with Australia as they look to reclaim their title after last winning the tournament in 2015, under former Celtic boss Ange Postecoglou.

Speaking to club media, external, Miller said: “The standards and expectations for our country are quite high.

“The boys know that and we have spoken about our goals and what we want to achieve in this tournament.

“I genuinely believe with the quality of players we have that we can win the tournament. But we need to take it one step at a time and one game at a time. Our sole focus is on our game against India (on Saturday), once we get through that game we will focus on the next one.

“We’ve just been trying to maintain our standards and behaviours both on and off the pitch. We are going to go out there and give all we have got to try and make Australia proud – I am just glad to be part of such a prolific group.”

Away from the pitch, Miller displayed some different skills in a viral clip, external as the right-back hit a 180 on the Socceroos training camp's dart board.

“That was the greatest achievement of my life," Miller laughed.

“They brought in a dart board a few days ago, we play darts at Hibs as well so I’ve had a bit of a practice and a warm-up there.

“I can confidently say that, I won’t be doing that again any time soon. But, we’re here for another month so I will keep practicing.

Hibs fans, with the season on pause for the winter break, we want to know which of the club's summer additions has impressed you most this season and why.

Get in touch about the club's transfer business here.

Hibs defender Rocky Bushiri played the full 90 minutes as Democratic Republic of Congo lost their final friendly before the Africa Cup of Nations kicks off.

The Leopards found themselves two goals down at the break as Burkina Faso charged to a comfortable lead.

Bushiri's side did respond as former Newcastle United defender Chancel Mbemba pulled one back, but an equaliser would escape the DR Congo.

They open their Afcon campaign against Zambia next Wednesday.

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Matty Fairnie, Longbangers podcast, external

With the winter break now upon us and the Hibs team jetting off for some warm-weather training in Dubai, it’s a good time to reflect on the season so far.

From the highs of beating Luzern in the Conference League qualifying rounds to the lows of a festive derby defeat. From Lee Johnson in the dugout to Nick Montgomery, whose arrival promised more than has been delivered so far.

Season so far: 4/10

The season has failed to get going for Hibs. Starting with an embarrassing away defeat to Inter d’Escaldes and a league campaign that started with three straight defeats, the Hibs board took action and replaced Lee Johnson with Nick Montgomery.

Monty’s arrival heralded an upturn in fortunes for Hibs before the form stuttered again. I do think that Montgomery will succeed at Easter Road if he’s given time. The January window offers him an opportunity to fine tune his squad to set up for what we hope will be a much improved second half to the season.

Best player: Joe Newell

Newell has been the driving force behind most of the good performances that Hibs have put in this season. He is one of the few players in the Hibs team who regularly looks like he is determined to impact a match and he must wish that his teammates showed the same determination each week.

Most disappointing player: Dylan Levitt

Levitt signed with much fanfare from Dundee United in the summer. On his day, he’s an absolute joy to watch; Hibs fans’ complaints would be that we don’t see him on his day often enough. If Dylan could show the same determination to be the best player on the park as Newell does, then Hibs would have one of the most formidable midfield pairings in the league.

Manager rating: 6/10

Montgomery has some big plus points on his side since joining in September. Results improved, although not to the extent that we would expect, and he’s brought Jair Tavares in from the cold and made him one of Hibs’ most exciting forwards. There’s also been a big upturn in David Marshall’s performances, and Montgomery has stamped an identity on the team that has been sorely lacking in recent years.

On the flip side, Hibs’ attack has stalled – a front line that should be the envy of most of the league is barely creating chances, and Hibs have dropped points to teams that, given the resources Hibs enjoy, Hibs should be beating more often than not. As a result, Hibs are clinging on to a top-six spot as we go into the break.

Predicted finish in table: 4th

On current form, 4th is probably a stretch. However with the rumoured investment from American billionaire Bill Foley likely to give Montgomery a helping hand with signings to strengthen the squad, a good window in January should be enough to move Hibs back up the table and into that 4th spot.

Elie Youan knows how to beat a man.

The Frenchman has completed the most successful dribbles in the Premiership this season, and seems to be building his confidence after a brace against Motherwell last time out.

It comes at an important time for the Hibees, who could be without Martin Boyle into mid-February.

The Australia international is also one of the league's best with the ball at this feet, with only seven players registering 30 or more dribbles this term.

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Nick Montgomery has chosen to chase the sun this winter as his Hibs squad head for Dubai with the Premiership on hold.

As well as warm weather training, the club also say there will be behind-closed-doors games to provide "invaluable" minutes in the players' legs.

Departingon Tuesday 9 January, Hibs will be away for a week before continuing their preparations at home ahead of their Scottish Cup fourth-round tie at Forfar Athletic on 20 January.

On the winter break, Montgomery said: “The break has come at a good time for us as we essentially had nine players unavailable for our game against Motherwell; five injured and four on international duty.

“I include Harry McKirdy within that number as his inclusion on the bench was accelerated, two weeks ahead of schedule, due to the number of players we had missing for that game. This week is vital for him and some of the other long-term injured players to return to full team training.

“This period is vital to ensure we’re ready for the second part of the season.”

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Hibs midfielder Josh Campbell will be out for at least 12 weeks after fracturing his ankle in last month's Edinburgh Derby.

The 23-year-old was stretchered off in the second half when teammate Dylan Levitt inadvertently tackled him, with his team going on to succumb to a late Lawrence Shankland winner.

The Leith club have confirmed that Campbell will not require surgery and his rehabilitation will start immediately.

A club statement read: "Hibernian FC can confirm that Josh Campbell will be out for a significant period of time with an ankle injury.

"Josh was stretchered off in the Edinburgh Derby after colliding with Dylan Levitt in the second-half on Wednesday 27 December, 2023.

"Scan results have revealed a small fracture in Josh’s ankle which means he will be out for a minimum of 12 weeks.

"Thankfully, the 23-year-old will not need surgery and will now be closely monitored by the Hibernian FC medical department throughout his rehabilitation and recovery process.

"Everyone at Hibernian FC wishes Josh all the best with his recovery and look forward to seeing him back on the pitch as soon as possible."