Hibernian manager Lee Johnson admits he would ‘love’ to see Will Fish return after the Manchester United youngster’s impressive loan spell at Easter Road.
There was understandably hand-wringing amongst the Hibs support when Ryan Porteous – one of the finest defenders in Scotland outside of Celtic or Rangers – upped sticks and crossed Hadrian’s Wall in January, joining Watford in England’s second tier.
It’s testament to the impact Will Fish made in Edinburgh, then, that Porteous was not quite missed as much as some had feared.
The Manchester United loanee played the full 90 minutes in 16 of Hibernian’s final 17 league games after stepping into Porteous shoes. He even found the net against St Mirren, Kilmarnock and Aberdeen.
Does Will Fish have a future at Manchester United?
Football Scotland believe that Hibs would jump at the chance to sign Fish on a permanent basis.
And Johnson – who previously described the 20-year-old as a ‘very, very good player’ – is making no secret of his desire to work with Fish for at least another season.
“I’d love to have Will back,” the former Sunderland boss tells Daily Record.
Hibernian do not have an option-to-buy clause in Fish’s contract. And Johnson accepts that any hopes of a permanent deal will be dictated by the finances available.
“With some of these guys, we have an option to turn (their loan) permanent. And, some, we haven’t. That comes into play,” Johnson adds.
“I’d like to keep the stability, trim the fat and use the finances well to recruit quality. I’d rather lower the numbers and have higher quality.”
‘I wouldn’t go back’
Fish, who was born in Manchester and had a previous loan spell at Salford City, may have already missed the boat at Old Trafford; United linked with a number of high-profile centre-halves, including Kim-Min Jae, Jurrien Timber and Monaco’s Axel Disasi.
Fish recently opened the door to a return to Hibs, Johnson’s side securing qualification for the UEFA Conference League.
“I definitely wouldn’t go back to playing reserves football,” he tells the Edinburgh Evening News.
“I think everyone is on the same page with that. Once you get a taste of that Saturday 3pm, when there’s pressure to get three points and you’ve got fans cheering you on, it’s hard to get that feeling elsewhere. I’m definitely going to go somewhere.”
“It would be amazing to play for a club like this in Europe. It would be amazing, but I don’t know what’s happening yet. We’ll see what happens at the end of the season.”
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