Martin Boyle is one of several Hibs players out of contract at the end of the season.
Boyle, like Dwight Gayle, Junior Hoilett, Chris Cadden, Rocky Bushiri, Josh Campbell, Lewis Miller and Max Boruc, has a deal until this summer.
While Josef Bursik, Kwon, Mykola Kuharevich and Nectar Triantis come to the end of loan deals.
The Hibees do hold an option for a further year on Boyle but it remains to be seen if that is triggered, with the player’s wishes coming into play.
Boyle has been back a key Hibs man again and back on form, admitting being dropped to the bench had been a “kick up the backside.”
Rocky Bushiri has already spoken about his own Hibees future and his teammate’s will now come into focus between now and the end of the season.
Ex-Hibs pair discuss Boyle’s future
Hibs fans will be waiting, and hoping, to see if the club exercise their option to tie down the speedster for another year.
Boyle is now 31, probably a high earner and has previously expressed a desire to play out in Australia at some point. All of these things will need to be taken into account.
Former Hibs duo Ian Murray and John Hughes debated the merits of the situation as they dissected the win over Ayr for BBC Scotland.
Assessing a missed chance from Boyle, Murray said: “Oh, it’s a fantastic opportunity. That was a mistake in the back line there. And, you know, a Martin Boyle on song scores that 10 out of 10. That kind of reminded me of him when he went through that wee dip earlier on in the season, but he managed to regain his confidence.
“So hopefully those misses don’t do him too much harm. He’ll be delighted and relieved that they came up with a goal so late on. That’s a very, very tough decision at the moment. I think when you, over the last, say, four or five weeks, yeah, definitely, it probably depends on how long that contract’s going to be for Martin.
“It’s a really tough one for Hibs. They don’t want to lose him, I don’t think, but it depends on is it value for money all round.”
Hughes interjected: “What I have noticed since Hibs have been on the run, he’s not playing wide right. He’s playing up front, he gets to roam, he can go down the left, and he’s got goals in his game.
“Yeah, I would certainly want to keep him for another year, but there’s so much depending on it in terms of the finance and where the club wants to go, but he’s certainly a very, very good, valuable player for Hibs.”
What David Gray has said on Boyle’s future
Hibs boss David Gray has previously discussed the future of Boyle, a player who he was a teammate of before moving into coaching.
asked whether that could also help, said: “Yeah, I think that does work both ways to be honest. I think it probably helps that I’ve got that little personal relationship with him.
“But then when you are talking about something like his future, it’s very important that it’s not personal at all for me. I can’t use the fact that he used to be my teammate or whatever. Not at all.
“There’s conversations going on all the time. At this moment in time, he’s really happy in playing the way he is. If that continues to the summer, then we’ll all benefit from that.
“As always, whether players are in contract, out of contract, when you play for a club like this and we’re playing well at the moment, there’s some players that maybe aren’t playing who clubs on the outside will look at and say: ‘Well, he might be available. Could he be available?’
“But even your key players that are playing and playing well will attract interest from other clubs. So you need to always be on the front foot and be ready to react.
“I don’t want to lose anyone. If somebody says, you’re going to lose Martin Boyle, I wouldn’t want that to happen.
“But it’s also a business and everything that comes with that. So we need to be proactive and ready for anything that could come up.
“But at this moment in time, he’s happy, he’s playing and long may that continue. He’s a player that we’re benefiting from being back to what’s deemed his best at the moment, which is great. He’s playing with a smile on his face.
“He’s happy. He’s had to go through a bit of adversity this season. For the first time in his career, since he really kicked on, when he first joined the club, he had to be patient to get his game regularly.
“But then he really became a key figure for his club. He’s played in a lot of big games and a lot of key moments for the club, big moments for the club.
“I think we’re starting to see that again. He’s had to go through a tough time, but he’s playing with a smile just now – and long may that continue.”