Hibs have handed two youngsters new deals with THREE heading out on loan.
Highly-regarded goalkeeper Murray Johnson has penned a four-year contract keeping him at the club until 2027 and he will now make the switch on a short-term emergency loan to League One outfit Airdrie and will play this weekend.
Jacob Blaney - who played a key role in the Under-19s UEFA Youth League campaign and hit the back of the net against Molde and Borussia Dortmund - has put pen to paper until 2025 and will now spend the rest of the campaign in senior football at Stenhousemuir. Josh McCulloch has also headed out to Albion Rovers as he looks to aid their survival hopes in Scottish League Two. The duo will be eligible to play for the Hibs Development Squad during the week.
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On top prospect Johnson, Hibernian FC Academy Director, Steve Kean told the official club website: “We are delighted to be able to tie Murray down to a long-term deal with the Club. The length of the deal clearly indicates how highly we think of Murray and he has an extremely bright future ahead of him.
“This season Murray has really kicked on and has benefitted from his short spell at Airdrieonians at the start of the season. He has been a top performer for the Dev Squad, played internationally with Scotland U19s and has now secured himself as backup goalkeeper in the Hibs First team squad.
“He is growing in confidence and this new contract is extremely well deserved.”
On Blaney, he said: “First and foremost, Jacob’s contract extension is very well deserved. He has been a standout performer not only this season for Hibs, but throughout all his years within the Hibernian FC Academy.
“This opportunity will give him a good taste of playing First Team football in an extremely competitive environment which will be great for his ongoing development.
“The beauty of the loan is that he will also be able to continue playing for the Hibs Dev Squad on Tuesdays, whilst playing for Stenhousemuir on a Saturday, so we will be able to monitor his progress closely.”
On McCulloch, he added: “This is a great opportunity for Josh to go and get regular minutes playing First Team senior football.
“With this loan, he will also be able to play for the Development Squad, which will give him a good opportunity to play two games a week and really accelerate his development between now and the end of the season.”
“There is not really a time you can put on it but normally I’d be back this season.”
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