Martin Boyle's future over in Saudi Arabia has been thrown into question after Al-Faisaly's relegation to the second tier.
The winger moved to the middle east in January in a £2.5 million deal after an outstanding 14 goals during the first half of the 2021/22 season at Easter Road, which included a memorable hat-trick in the League Cup semi-final against Rangers. Hibs struggled to cope with his departure and eventually finished up the Premiership campaign in the bottom half as they struggled to replace their star attacking man.
It's been a contrasting month for the former Dundee player, who after clinching a World Cup 2022 spot in Qatar later this year with national team Australia, has suffered relegation from Saudi's top division after Al-Faisaly undergoing a terrible end to the season. They had to get at least a point on the final day but painfully lost 2-1 to Al-Hilal.
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Relegation beckons because of their head-to-head record against Al-Batin and now Boyle is set to be playing in the Saudi First Division League, a 20-team league that begins in September.
Whether he sticks around for that or not is unknown, but Hibs did include a buy-back clause in his contract upon the 29-year-old's exit.
And the attacker himself has previously said that a return to Leith would be appealing at some stage.
He told club media after his departure: "Hopefully in the future I can return one day and repay them once again.
"It's a new adventure for me. I'm certainly looking forward to it. But I'm hoping that if I do come back I've still got a lot to give.
"If I'm welcomed back with open arms, there's no club in Scotland I'd rather be at. You see players leaving and coming back a lot these days, so if there's anything in the pipeline, it's one I'd definitely not turn my nose up."
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