Hibs fans may be whipping themselves into a mild frenzy over the arrival of wing wizard Aiden McGeady.
But according to former Belgium star Steven Defour it’s fellow Easter Road new boy Elie Youan who is just as likely to leave the Leith faithful spellbound with his magic feet. Youan has joined up with Lee Johnson ’s squad at their Portuguese training camp having signed a season-long loan deal from St Gallen with an option to buy.
Little is known of the Frenchman among the Hibs support. But together with fellow new boys McGeady, Momodou Bojang and Jair Tavares, the 23-year-old will be expected to produce the goods in the final third. Defour has backed him to do just that and lighten up Leith as part of Johnson’s new-look frontline with his blistering pace and technical quality.
Whisper it but he might just even fill the explosive void created by Martin Boyle ’s departure in January.
Former Burnley, Porto and Anderlecht star Defour is the current assistant manager at Mechelen where Youan spent the second half of last season.
And speaking to Record Sport the 52-times capped Belgium ace said: “I think Elie can be a success in Scotland. He can make a real difference with his technical ability.
“The one-on-one duels will be tough but he is strong enough to compete.
“He has the qualities to do well.
“Elie is a very good player. I would say he is like a nine-and-a-half .. I mean he is best just behind a striker but not quite so deep because he likes to come into the ball.
“He is very quick and very good at running with the ball at his feet.
“I have no doubt he will excite the fans.
“His pace is a huge asset. But he’s strong too and not easy to push off the ball.
“He is not bad in front of goal but his big quality is that ability to dribble and produce a bit of magic.”
Youan made the switch to Mechelen on loan from St Gallen on the final day of the January transfer window.
It followed a six-goal burst in the first half of the season with his parent club in the Swiss Super League.
However with the form of the Mechelen front line - including 16 goal Nikola Storm and Hugo Kuypers who netted 13 times - game time for Youan was at a premium in Belgium.
The Antwerp side climbed to seventh place on a run in which they lost just twice in their last 11 games and Youan had to make do with four appearances off the bench.
Defour, below, insists that’s not a fair reflection on the player though.
And he reckons a fresh start in Leith might just be the perfect launchpad for the player to reach another level.
Defour said: “Elie was unfortunate that we had a very good forward line last year.
“He arrived at a team that was performing well and it was always going to be difficult to break into the starting XI.
“But he played his part and was excellent in training every day. His ability is not in question.
“He worked hard and always wanted to stay back and work individually with coaches to make sure he was getting the most from training.
“We identified Elie half way through the season and knew he could provide important competition to the boys.
“What we saw of his videos and the analysis of his time at St Gallen was impressive enough for us to do a loan deal.
“It’s a shame he never got more game time but we came to a mutual agreement that it would be best if he looked at another opportunity elsewhere.
“It was simply because the competition for places in our forward line was too tough.
“But Elie will be a popular guy in the dressing room at Hibs. He speaks French but understands English well.
“He will be excited about the new opportunity and I hope he is a success and helps push the club to try and qualify for Europe.”
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