Josh Campbell reckons his old team-mate Ouzy See is a certainty to score on Love Island but the only eyes the Hibs man hopes to catch this season are Steve Clarke’s.
Edinburgh City last month sent See to Casa Amor on a “loan deal” and he’s already been dubbed big handsome by contestants on the hit ITV reality show. Campbell may only remember him being called big stupid while they struck up a winning partnership at the Citizens. But he insists there will be nothing daft if See finds his match in Mallorca, even if the 28-year-old’s moves in the villa are making him cringe.
Campbell holds his loan spell at City as well as his friendship with the striker close to his heart for setting him on the way to first-team football at Easter Road and is hoping to score plenty himself this season. But before then he has been watching his old pal try to strike up a new partnership through his fingers at the Hibs’ training camp in Marbella. And he said: “Will he score? From watching it this week I definitely think he will.
“We’re watching it here. Every time he comes on the screen I cringe. Everyone calls him big handsome in there – we just called him stupid! He’s a great boy though. I was shocked. I had stopped watching it and I got a message saying big Ouzy was going in and I was like, ‘No way’.
“So I messaged a few boys at City. They knew but they kept it quiet. They were like, ‘Ah, it’s just rumours’. And then I turned it on one night and there he was on my telly. I was like, ‘Oh my God’.
“You know what? He’s one of the nicest guys ever. He’s such a down-to-earth guy. He really helped me when I went over to City because I played up top with him. It was a shock because he’s quite a shy person. He’s not the kind of guy who would normally put himself out there in front of millions of people on telly.”
It’s not just See hoping to showcase his talents and bag a belter or two in the next few months. Campbell is coming off his best season in which he netted eight times in the league, including a hat-trick in a 6-0 rout of Aberdeen, on top of another in the Viaplay Cup.
That form had Hibs manager Lee Johnson tipping the midfielder for a Scotland call-up. The 23-year-old hopes to win admiring glances from national boss Clarke – and hitting double figures from midfield would help his cause.
Campbell, who netted in the first of two friendlies out in Spain, said: “You always want to play for your country. I felt like I was dipping last year with my form and I was in and out of the team. But if I can find that consistency, why not?
“The team is looking very good, it’s a very difficult midfield to get into. But I want to push to try to get there. The first thing is getting into the squad, to be involved, and from there try to get into the team.
“That’s what Ryan Porteous did. He was in and around it for a long time, then got his chance and took it. Now look at him. I’m not one to set targets but you want to do better than you did the previous season. I managed to score eight goals last season, so I would like to get to double figures.
“The manager has told me to work on things like my goal against Europa, that late run into the box, being in what he calls the POMO area – positions of maximum opportunity – where goals are scored.
“I do like playing behind that striker in that 10 position and break into the box but if I need to play in a position the manager wants me to, I will.”
Campbell signed a new deal in February that will take him through to the summer of 2027 and is desperate to help Hibs improve on last season’s fifth-placed finish. Arrivals such as midfield playmaker Dylan Levitt give hope to Hibees they can leapfrog Hearts and Aberdeen.
And Campbell said: “Third is always the goal for us every season but the manager is massive about challenging the top two as well. We did well sometimes against them last season, especially at home.
“But third is the goal for us. It was a bit difficult last summer with so many faces coming into the building. However, it’s a good group now, we have known each other for a wee while. The manager is trying to bring in really good people to add to the group.
“I have played against Dylan before, everyone knows what a good player he is, so it is great to get someone like that in the door. It’s a really good move for us and him and I think he is really happy to be here as well.”
It’s three years since Campbell was earning his stripes on loan at Edinburgh City – then in League Two – alongside See. It’s a well-trodden path, the short route from Easter Road to Meadowbank and back again, with Porteous leading the way four years earlier.
Campbell added: “City was massive for me, it was a big part of my career. I just found my feet again, I got back enjoying my football again and it helped a lot. There is a really good connection between the two clubs and playing men’s football helps your progress a lot."
