Summer transfer thread 2025

[Since452]

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Whether a player is a good player or not a good player is obviously a matter of personal opinion.

As probably the person on this forum who has seen Josh Nisbet more than anybody else…..and I say that after watching nearly all his games in Oz over a period of years….here’s mine.

(He actually made his debut for Mariners the same night as the towering Usain Bolt and the photo of then standing together is a classic!)

Nisbet was voted player of the season prior to him leaving for Ross County.

He was the clear ‘pick of the bunch’ in a very successful team that won trophies not only in Oz but also in Asia.Nick Triantis was part of that team but was certainly overshadowed at that time by Nisbet.

Being 5’3”” he has suffered from ‘sizeism’ everywhere he has been..including at the Mariners at one point……and I believe that is one of the main reasons he ended up at Ross County.

Most European, and certainly Scottish clubs would view his small stature as being not suited to their league.

Nisbet received several lucrative overs to sign for Japanese clubs, but he was intent on playing in Europe, and the only offer forthcoming was from Ross County.

I thought at the time that this was not a good choice…….playing for an always struggling bottom of the table side who spend most of their time battling to avoid defeat….as opposed to side who were more likely to be seen as creative and attacking…was never going to help him show his ability.

Unlike some…..and I guess time will tell…Like you I do think that he will play at a higher level than Div2 in The Netherlands.

Football in Oz is based (roughly) on the Dutch style of play (the Technical Directors were often referred to as the ‘Dutch Mafia’)

The Dutch move is, again in my opinion, much more suited to Josh’s ability, and signing for Ross County was never a good move for him.

A bit like when Scott Allan joined Rotherham.

Again my opinion…and it isn’t worth any more or less than anybody’s…is based on having followed the players career over a number of years..rather than making a snap judgement.

Not really interested in debating whether I am right or wrong…..it is as I say a matter of opinion, but yes, I would have liked to see him play in a Hibs shirt.

I'm not sure how seriously people take the Australian league. I think that was a factor more than "sizeism". The fact Usain Bolt was his teammate says it all really. Nick Montgomery being so out of his depth managing here shows it's still a fair few levels below our standard and Nisbet looked average at best in our league and was the player of the season in Australia.

[McD]

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Did LJ not give Josh O’Connor minutes ahead of Ethan ?

The limited times I’ve seen either play, Ethan looked the better player.

Was that to do with EL not wanting to sign a new deal, whereas JOC and others were signing new deals?

[Hibernian Verse]

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I'd be completely gobsmacked if Smith doesn't start the season as number 1

Prepare to be gobsmacked.

[ruthven_raiders]

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Might use Sallinger for Europe and/or Cup matches and Smith for the league, until someone mucks-up!

That was my first thought if we get to league stages of Europe, they do it in England, so both makes sure sallinger would be up to speed if smith got injured...

[Fergus52]

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That was my first thought if we get to league stages of Europe, they do it in England, so both makes sure sallinger would be up to speed if smith got injured...

I'm pretty sure Salinger is coming in to be no. 1,

Smith has been pretty good shot stopping wise but I don't fully understand the love in he gets on here - he's very poor at coming for crosses, has inconsistent distribution and was at fault for a few goals towards the end of the season.

Excellent choice as back-up, but I'm glad we're signing someone of decent pedigree to hopefully come in and start

[Unseen work]

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I'm pretty sure Salinger is coming in to be no. 1,

Smith has been pretty good shot stopping wise but I don't fully understand the love in he gets on here - he's very poor at coming for crosses, has inconsistent distribution and was at fault for a few goals towards the end of the season.

Excellent choice as back-up, but I'm glad we're signing someone of decent pedigree to hopefully come in and start

I actually like that smith knows his strengths and that he allows the defenders to deal with crossed balls, allowing him to stay on his line. The majority of the time he comes from crosses I think he does so well.

I think his distribution is very good, he plays those clipped balls out to the full backs very well. He knows when to try play and when to go long.

His one against rangers I can’t even class as a mistake, more the defensive shape off the ball being so poor that is allowed one pass to make Dessers be in on goal and onside.

Pretty good shot stopping wise is harsh too imo, he has routinely made brilliant saves for us

Swear I’m not his mum 🤣

[Hibspur]

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Prepare to be gobsmacked.

Gray won't drop Smith after the outstanding season he's just had. Good to have what appears to be a solid signing in as back-up, but that's what he'll be unless Smith isn't performing well enough to merit the No 1 spot.

[JohnM1875]

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Gray won't drop Smith after the outstanding season he's just had. Good to have what appears to be a solid signing in as back-up, but that's what he'll be unless Smith isn't performing well enough to merit the No 1 spot.

Whoever performs better over pre-season and in training will be number one. Which is exactly how it should be.

[Jones28]

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I'm pretty sure Salinger is coming in to be no. 1,

Smith has been pretty good shot stopping wise but I don't fully understand the love in he gets on here - he's very poor at coming for crosses, has inconsistent distribution and was at fault for a few goals towards the end of the season.

Excellent choice as back-up, but I'm glad we're signing someone of decent pedigree to hopefully come in and start

Don't agree with this at all, Smith looked a bit shaky when he first came in but improved and was immense against Rangers. 5 or 6 real goal preventing stops.

His distribution is one of his strongest points for me, rarely misplaces a pass.

Re crosses he comes for less crosses but again, he's gotten better as the season went on.

[Hibernian Verse]

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Gray won't drop Smith after the outstanding season he's just had. Good to have what appears to be a solid signing in as back-up, but that's what he'll be unless Smith isn't performing well enough to merit the No 1 spot.

He's been brought in as a number one. Smith will be dropped, sorry.

[CapitalGreen]

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Gray won't drop Smith after the outstanding season he's just had. Good to have what appears to be a solid signing in as back-up, but that's what he'll be unless Smith isn't performing well enough to merit the No 1 spot.

I think it’s possible that Gray perhaps doesn’t rate Smith as highly as some do on here. Gray had all preseason last summer to assess him and went with Bursik and then it took about 4 months of awful performances from Bursik before he’d give Smith a chance. He could have easily brought in a cheap back up goalkeeper this summer but has paid a sizeable fee by our standards and given a 3 year contract to Sallinger.

[Hibees1973]

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I'm pretty sure Salinger is coming in to be no. 1,

Smith has been pretty good shot stopping wise but I don't fully understand the love in he gets on here - he's very poor at coming for crosses, has inconsistent distribution and was at fault for a few goals towards the end of the season.

Excellent choice as back-up, but I'm glad we're signing someone of decent pedigree to hopefully come in and start

Really depends on how they both shape up during training and pre season games. Then it will be a call between Gray & Craig Samson who starts.

It's fair to say 'tin hat on' that Gray stuck with Bursik way too long last season before dropping him. The benefits were for all to see when Bursik was dropped. Much as Smith did perform well, the only way we can replicate or even build on last season is for current players to improve. If not they will be replaced.

i detect a wee bit of sentiment for Smith in some of the earlier posts. For me he looked a bit vulnerable at crosses and with the ball at his feet. Also seemed to lack a bit of physical stature. Understand if you are happy with Smith, then he is your man. But goalkeeper is one of the positions I feel we can get an upgrade on.

If Smith proves to be better than Salinger then he keeps the gloves.

[Hibernian Verse]

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Really depends on how they both shape up during training and pre season games. Then it will be a call between Gray & Craig Samson who starts.

It's fair to say 'tin hat on' that Gray stuck with Bursik way too long last season before dropping him. The benefits were for all to see when Bursik was dropped. Much as Smith did perform well, the only way we can replicate or even build on last season is for current players to improve. If not they will be replaced.

i detect a wee bit of sentiment for Smith in some of the earlier posts. For me he looked a bit vulnerable at crosses and with the ball at his feet. Also seemed to lack a bit of physical stature. Understand if you are happy with Smith, then he is your man. But goalkeeper is one of the positions I feel we can get an upgrade on.

If Smith proves to be better than Salinger then he keeps the gloves.

Think you're spot on. Every player can be upgraded and Sallinger isn't signing a three year deal abroad to sit on the bench, he must have some kind of assurance that he will play.

[Donegal Hibby]

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I'm not sure how seriously people take the Australian league. I think that was a factor more than "sizeism". The fact Usain Bolt was his teammate says it all really. Nick Montgomery being so out of his depth managing here shows it's still a fair few levels below our standard and Nisbet looked average at best in our league and was the player of the season in Australia.

It could be said Monty has ended up now at a club levels above our own as a coach now . I still think it’s hard to judge a player in a new league especially when he’s in a side that’s been struggling for a few years , personally I don’t think it was a very good move for him though at least someone was shrewd enough in having a relegation clause in his contract as it was inevitable that Ross County would eventually go down after flirting with it so often in recent times . It will be interesting to see how he does at his new club . I think at times players get written off too early on occasions by fans . Maybe this is another one , who knows!.

[Lago]

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It could be said Monty has ended up now at a club levels above our own as a coach now . I still think it’s hard to judge a player in a new league especially when he’s in a side that’s been struggling for a few years , personally I don’t think it was a very good move for him though at least someone was shrewd enough in having a relegation clause in his contract as it was inevitable that Ross County would eventually go down after flirting with it so often in recent times . It will be interesting to see how he does at his new club . I think at times players get written off too early on occasions by fans . Maybe this is another one , who knows!.

Unfortunately he's probably just lost his job.

[Iain G]

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Think you're spot on. Every player can be upgraded and Sallinger isn't signing a three year deal abroad to sit on the bench, he must have some kind of assurance that he will play.

Why would he need an assurance that he will play? We now have one good proven keeper at our level and a new keeper that has performed well at his previous club, they can have a fight for the gloves and there is no guarantee of playing time, that would be mad as what if Salinger doesnt adapt to the game here?

[Donegal Hibby]

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He's been brought in as a number one. Smith will be dropped, sorry.

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Think you're spot on. Every player can be upgraded and Sallinger isn't signing a three year deal abroad to sit on the bench, he must have some kind of assurance that he will play.

I don’t know how you can say he’s been brought in as NO .1 , nobody knows that , would we have made any assurances to Smith when we got him to sign a 3 year deal too ? . At the minute the way I see it is we have two good keepers fighting for the NO .1 jersey and Smith has it at this moment in time . If he starts to underperform , make mistakes that’s costing us games or points then he will be replaced . I don’t see Sallinger just walking in and the other fella dropped when his performances have generally been really good.

[Donegal Hibby]

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Unfortunately he's probably just lost his job.

More than likely . Spurs are a bit of a basket case of a club now .

[Since90+2]

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It could be said Monty has ended up now at a club levels above our own as a coach now . I still think it’s hard to judge a player in a new league especially when he’s in a side that’s been struggling for a few years , personally I don’t think it was a very good move for him though at least someone was shrewd enough in having a relegation clause in his contract as it was inevitable that Ross County would eventually go down after flirting with it so often in recent times . It will be interesting to see how he does at his new club . I think at times players get written off too early on occasions by fans . Maybe this is another one , who knows!.

Montgomery might be at a club levels above us but he's essentially tasked with putting the cones out.

[007]

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I think it’s possible that Gray perhaps doesn’t rate Smith as highly as some do on here. Gray had all preseason last summer to assess him and went with Bursik and then it took about 4 months of awful performances from Bursik before he’d give Smith a chance. He could have easily brought in a cheap back up goalkeeper this summer but has paid a sizeable fee by our standards and given a 3 year contract to Sallinger.

Or you could look at it another way, Gray stuck with a keeper playing poorly for a long time before making a change so he'd likely stick with a keeper who'd been performing well before making a change.

My guess would be he's not thinking Sallinger is coming in to be the number 1. It's for them to fight over and he'll assess both in preseason. My view is that if there's not much between them then Smith should start the 1st competitive game as he's currently got the gloves. If Sallinger is clearly better than Smith then start Sallinger. Either way, if they make too many mistakes then there's a good keeper waiting in the wings to take over so they know they need to keep their standards high. Here's hoping it's similar to when we had Marciano/Bogdan.

[CapitalGreen]

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Montgomery might be at a club levels above us but he's essentially tasked with putting the cones out.

Is that what you thought of Gray the last 4 years, just the cones guy?

[Wilson]

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Is that what you thought of Gray the last 4 years, just the cones guy?

Gray was in training for 'cones guy'. Still not sure he lines them up straight.

[B.H.F.C]

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I think it’s possible that Gray perhaps doesn’t rate Smith as highly as some do on here. Gray had all preseason last summer to assess him and went with Bursik and then it took about 4 months of awful performances from Bursik before he’d give Smith a chance. He could have easily brought in a cheap back up goalkeeper this summer but has paid a sizeable fee by our standards and given a 3 year contract to Sallinger.

Pretty much how I see it. The fee is the bit swings it for me. If the intention was for Smith to start next season as number one, I don’t think we’d be paying that level of fee. It feels more like, to me, it’s a position that we’ve identified as being possible to improve. I think there are a couple of those positions in the team, players who contributed well but you’d be looking at thinking we can possibly upgrade within our budget.

[Since90+2]

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Is that what you thought of Gray the last 4 years, just the cones guy?

Nope.

Gray is a club legend, gets the club completely and even when at coach level would have commanded massive respect in the dressing room and the fans generally felt, even as a coach, it was beneficial having him at Hibs.

None of that applies to Montgomery and Tottenham.

[easty]

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It could be said Monty has ended up now at a club levels above our own as a coach now . I still think it’s hard to judge a player in a new league especially when he’s in a side that’s been struggling for a few years , personally I don’t think it was a very good move for him though at least someone was shrewd enough in having a relegation clause in his contract as it was inevitable that Ross County would eventually go down after flirting with it so often in recent times . It will be interesting to see how he does at his new club . I think at times players get written off too early on occasions by fans . Maybe this is another one , who knows!.

Ending up at a Prem club as a coach isn’t a step up from being Hibs manager.

It’s probably better money, but career wise it’s backwards.

[Sioux]

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Nope.

Gray is a club legend, gets the club completely and even when at coach level would have commanded massive respect in the dressing room and the fans generally felt, even as a coach, it was beneficial having him at Hibs.

None of that applies to Montgomery and Tottenham.

What’s a ‘club legend’ got to do with it? Players will react to a coach based on what a coach does on a day to day basis at the training ground, and during games, and not what he might have done during a playing career.

If you’re good at your job you’ll get respect, if not…………

[CapitalGreen]

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Nope.

Gray is a club legend, gets the club completely and even when at coach level would have commanded massive respect in the dressing room and the fans generally felt, even as a coach, it was beneficial having him at Hibs.

None of that applies to Montgomery and Tottenham.

You’ve no idea how the Tottenham dressing room feels about Montgomery though. I also imagine in the eyes of Tottenham fans, everyone in the football department who helped them secure a major European trophy will have hero status for what they delivered - akin to the likes of Doolan and Taff do for us. What he did at Hibs will be irrelevant to his standing amongst the Tottenham squad and fans.

[Donegal Hibby]

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Ending up at a Prem club as a coach isn’t a step up from being Hibs manager.

It’s probably better money, but career wise it’s backwards.

I think saying it is or isn’t a backward step is debatable and without getting into a debate about it , let’s just say it is a backward step though working with players like Son , Maddison etc , top manager , a league absolutely levels above our own as well as the European run is some experience which I think most managers who have been sacked in our league would probably jump at in fairness.

[Since90+2]

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I think saying it is or isn’t a backward step is debatable and without getting into a debate about it , let’s just say it is a backward step though working with players like Son , Maddison etc , top manager , a league absolutely levels above our own as well as the European run is some experience which I think most managers who have been sacked in our league would probably jump at in fairness.

It's a backwards step. Do you think he'd have left to take up that role if we was still Hibs manager?

Not a chance.

[hibsbollah]

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Whoever performs better over pre-season and in training will be number one. Which is exactly how it should be.

Exactly. Not sure why people don’t understand this. Its a clean slate.