Elie Youan always seems to have had an uncertain time at Hibs.
The quality of a player who scored ten and assisted ten last season and comes up with big moments like a derby double against Hearts has never been in question.
Fans have at times been frustrated with certain elements though and that led to a clash between Youan and a Hibs supporter after a home defeat to St Mirren.
Youan also had criticism from pundits such as Marvin Bartley for his reaction to Jordan Obita being sent off in a 4-1 thumping by Dundee.
That led to a spat between the pair and Bartley recently lifted the lid on what went on after Instagram messages were exchanged.
The Frenchman forced his way back into the Hibees side and was on good form as helped them climb the table following their struggles.
But now it seems as if it’s his future which is uncertain.
Hibs boss Gray speaks on Youan
We told this week how Hibs had received an offer from Blackburn Rovers for the forward but had knocked it back.
It is believed though that the English Championship side have not been put off and may well return with an improved bid.
Gray was quizzed about that in his press conference ahead of facing Aberdeen today.
And he said: “Élie is someone who, in every window, attracts attention and speculation purely because of his attributes and the qualities he has.
“There is a lot of speculation around Élie but at this moment in time he’s still a Hibs player and until that changes there’s no real news on him.
“He’s injured at the moment; he needs to keep working hard to get himself back on the training pitch as quickly as he can.
“If he’s still here then brilliant; if he’s not and something comes up that we think is right for everybody involved then we’ll have to be ready to react in whatever way we think makes the club better.”
Gray on Hibs incomings
Hibs have so far made one January signing, bringing in midfielder Alasana Manneh from Danish side OB.
There is scope for more ahead of Monday’s deadline, even though time is clearly running out.
On that, Gray said: “You don’t want to bring players to the football club who won’t improve the squad. I don’t think anybody would ever bring a player to a club anyway, where the intention is not to try to make you better. Naturally, you won’t get every single one right but the intention is always to improve the squad.
“I’m in a very fortunate position that we’ve got players coming back. We still need minutes into a few boys and there are a few established first-team players still to come back which will improve the squad, so we are in a good place from that point of view, and once the window closes it’s not about whether we’ve done more business, not enough business, or whatever – it’s all judged on the results straight away.
“We need to be in a position when the window closes where we feel we’re stronger, to give ourselves the best chance to finish the season as well as we can. If we can do that, we’ve given ourselves a real opportunity, with where we are in the league, to end the season positively.”