by Stuart Crowther 29th July 2002

Laursen heads west ...£1.25m deal concluded for Hibs great-Dane ULRIK LAURSEN COULD ONLY SMILE at Vaasa airport yesterday afternoon, as while the Dane was saying nothing about his imminent move up the M8 to Parkhead, his soon-to-be former team-mates at Easter Road already knew what everyone else does, the deed is done.  Hibs goalkeeper Nick Colgan raised a few laughs as Laursen studied a piece of paper intently, the Irish international asking the Dane if he was checking flight times to Glasgow.  And while back home the club have made no comment on Celtic's assertion that agreement had been reached between the clubs, it is indeed expected that Laursen will complete his move with a fee of just £1.25m believed to be Hibs reward for parting with yet another prized asset. The question on the lips of most Hibs fans, having now seen a total of around £2.75m in coming into the club over the last seven days, is just how much or indeed will any of this cash be released to Bobby Williamson?  Hibs of course will have to wait before they see any of the cash, and to say the issue is clouded in mystery is in itself an understatement.  There remains the firm belief that the Easter Road club will not see all of the reported £1.5m they sold Ulises de la Cruz for to Aston Villa, while at least in the case of Laursen there is unlikely to be any doubt over who should receive what!  Fans though will see only one thing, a large cash windfall coming into the club and precious little going out.  They will see a depleted Hibs squad, and they will not Bobby Williamson's comments that perhaps tonight's game against Everton is one pre-season friendly too many for a squad that was reduced to his choosing from just 15 players for the final tour match on Saturday. Ulrik Laursen celebrates with McManus - the Dane set to move (sns) These 15 players form the core of the Hibs squad for the coming season, and the question must surely be - is that enough?  With a transfer deadline set for the end of August, some sort of move has to be made soon lest Hibs find themselves in some serious trouble before the season has really got going.  The club have lost two of their best players, both defenders, and while it has not been admitted by the Hibs boss in the mind of most observers another experienced striker is an urgent requirement.  Paco Luna did a great job scoring 4 times in Finland and the Easter Road side certainly looked the part when he was playing, but when he was not on the park Hibs looked more than a little lightweight in attack. Easter Road fans will have a chance at last to see for themselves what has been done during the pre-season, and there is not doubt that once again the Hibs boss will receive maximum effort from a squad who have done everything asked of them.  Likely to start the game against he English Premiership side, who ran out 3-0 winners over Dunfermline on Saturday, is former Motherwell midfielder Derek Townsley.  After something of a nightmare start to his Easter Road career last season, Townsley finished the season on a high and all the signs are that he has lost none of the confidence gained from that spell.  And the departure of De La Cruz will perhaps work in favour of Townsley, who turned in another notable performance in Hibs 2-1 win over FF Jaro at the weekend.  He said: "Ulises leaving I suppose is one less player for me to worry about, if you want to put it that way!  But I spoke to the manager and he was very positive, and I hope my versatility works in favour of me this year." Versatility seems to be the current catch-word at Easter Road.  Bobby Williamson has tried a number of players out of their normal positions during the pre-season games, and the Hibs boss admitted at the weekend that he saw this as a vital part of Hibs plans for the coming season.  No matter if some of that transfer cash comes his way or not, the Hibs boss knows and expects to be working with a greatly reduced squad and with the option of dipping into the transfer market to get a club out of trouble now gone, players willing to play in just about any position will be vital.