Hibs head coach Jack Ross says incoming centre-back Nathan Wood has a ‘big future’ as he nears a season-long loan move from Middlesbrough to the Scottish Premiership.
The Middlesbrough talent was at Easter Road on Saturday as Hibs stayed top of the league over the international break via a 2-0 victory against Livingston. Ross has been keen to add to his defence and bids for St Johnstone’s Jamie McCart have been rejected. Injuries to attackers Christian Doidge and Jamie Murphy may also prompt new signings.
Wood – who has made 13 Middlesbrough appearances – is one all but definitely coming in, Ross saying of the 19-year-old: “He was here at the game. More to get a medical done than anything else. Hopefully we can announce it soon. He gives us that defensive reinforcement. He is a really good young player with a big future ahead of him.
“He goes away with England Under 20s over the international break. He’ll hopefully join us for the season and strengthen the group. I’ve said beforehand that we were looking to strengthen middle to front and with Jamie’s injury, we might need to do more of that as well. But we’ll look to be active and strengthen the group.”
Murphy suffered his injury in the Livingston match, Ross adding: “It’s a reoccurrence of the hamstring problem that he’s had and he’s a bit down, because he’s been in really good form and looked fit and strong. We’ll assess it and see how it is.
“Sometimes it settles down quickly and he’s back in a short time period, but we’ll wait and we’ll know more in a couple of days.”
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