Lee Johnson has backed Elie Youan to steer Hibs into Europe instead of driving his manager up the wall.
The French striker netted his seventh goal of the season with the opener in Saturday's 2-1 win over St Mirren. Youan’s attacking attributes have never been in doubt but the frontman has infuriated his gaffer in the past when it comes to carrying out the dirty side of the game.
Hibs are hoping to convert the 24-year-old’s loan from St Gallen into a permanent deal and the Hibs boss insists Youan has bags of potential. Johnson, whose team are now three points clear of the sixth-placed Buddies in the Premiership table with four games left, said: “Elie showed both sides of his game today and we expect that from our wingers. You’ve got to work hard. I’m pretty critical when they don’t, so when they do it’s fantastic. We call it a ball thief when they nick it on the way back in.
“Elie’s earned his rest over the weekend because of the physical effort he has put in – and that’s what Elie has got to do. He can frustrate the life out of us at times. He drives you up the wall but he’s also got that real threat about him and can peg a team back and he can run all day.
“He’s got quite unique attributes so we just need to keep developing him. He’s still young. If he put it all together we wouldn’t have him. That’s what we’ve got to try and do before we sell him.”
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