Hibs dealt with way more departures than incomings during the January transfer window.
Not The Old Firm explained in December that Hibs’ transfer priorities centred around a three particular positions.
Despite being linked with a few names across the month, they only managed to sign central midfielder Alasana Manneh from Odense Boldklub.
David Gray’s hands may have been tied however given the Easter Road side’s woeful financial results that delivered £7.2m in losses.
Hibs let eight players leave with only three of those loan exits. Those included youngsters Nohan Kenneh, Malik Zaid and Murray Johnston.
But they did sanction a permanent exit for one of their young starlets in the form of Josh Landers and his £100k switch to West Ham United.
And now, it seems they are about to lose another of their academy prospects to a giant of the Premier League.
- READ MORE: Pundit shares the moment Hibs vs Hearts ‘flipped’ as ‘danger man’ sparked Hibees into life
Manchester City want to sign Ben Vickery from Hibs
It is being reported by the Edinburgh Evening News that 16-year-old Hibs goalkeeper Ben Vickery is in talks over a move to Manchester City.
City are renowned for snapping up young talent across the UK and developing them in their own world-class academy at the Etihad Campus.
The report says that the Manchester club have regularly scouted Vickery and have now put a contract offer on the table for him.
Vickery has played primarily for the Hibs U18s this season, while also representing the Scotland U16s recently.
Cross-border compensation transfers must be addressed
Vickery could be the just another young Scottish player to move to England at such an early age and before he’s even kicked a ball competitively for his club’s first-team.
The SFA published a damning report in August last year which effectively explained that Scottish football is failing their young players.
The document also outlined potential solutions to the problems of youth development pathways in Scotland, including protection against cross-border compensation transfers.
Other improvement recommendations included:
- Fluid movement of youngsters outside of transfer windows to give them exposure to first-team football earlier
- Alterations to regulations in cup competitions to give starlets more minutes
- Reviewing the entire youth development pathway currently on offer
- More support from the SFA on educating clubs